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What is NeuraLynx?
NeuraLynx is a neuroscience technology company that builds data acquisition and analysis systems for recording neural activity. Its products split into two main areas: research hardware and software for laboratory neuroscience, and a clinical line centered on the ATLAS neurophysiology system. The company's focus is on multichannel neural recording, with its flagship research platform, Digital Lynx +, described as high-performance, low-noise, and capable of 1024 channels for recording and stimulation.
What it offers
- Research hardware: Digital Lynx + and Digital Lynx SX acquisition systems, FreeLynx and LabLynx portable systems, headstages, pre-amplifiers, microdrives, commutators for optogenetics, electrode interface boards, and accessories such as tether cables and impedance testers.
- Research software: Acquisition and experiment control, data analysis, file converters and utilities, hardware control, video tracking, development drivers and firmware, plus Python and MATLAB-Netcom utilities.
- Clinical products: The ATLAS neurophysiology system (acquisition amplifier, combo board, workstation, headboxes, headstages, stim headbox, signal splitters, isolators, and related cabling), along with Pegasus software and NetCom.
Who it's for
The research side suits neuroscience labs running in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, or video-tracked behavioral experiments that need many channels and low noise. The clinical side targets clinical neurophysiology settings that need integrated recording and stimulation hardware with dedicated software.
A practical next step
If you're equipping a lab, decide first whether you need a fixed high-channel-count rig (Digital Lynx-class) or a portable setup (FreeLynx or LabLynx), then check that the software workflow—acquisition, analysis, and file conversion—matches your existing pipeline. For clinical use, start from the ATLAS system overview rather than the research catalog, since the two lines use different hardware and software.
Related tools in this space include MATLAB for analysis and Python for custom acquisition and processing scripts.
How does the Digital Lynx SX compare to the Digital Lynx + for high-channel-count neural recording?
For high-channel-count work, the Digital Lynx SX is the expandable closed-loop recording system in NeuraLynx's research line, while the Digital Lynx + is presented as the next-generation system with high performance, multichannel, low-noise operation and support for up to 1024 channels of recording and stimulation. So the practical difference is scale and role: the Digital Lynx + is the higher-ceiling platform for very large recording-plus-stimulation experiments, and the Digital Lynx SX is the expandable option for closed-loop recording.
How to choose
- Recording plus stimulation at very high channel counts: lean toward the Digital Lynx +, since the page evidence ties it to 1024 channels for recording and stimulation.
- Expandable closed-loop recording: lean toward the Digital Lynx SX, described as a high-performance, expandable recording system with closed-loop processing.
- Lower-noise, next-generation acquisition: the Digital Lynx + is the newer-generation system in the page description, so it is the natural starting point if low noise and current-generation performance are priorities.
- Portable or smaller setups: neither is the obvious fit; the same product family lists FreeLynx and the LabLynx Portable System, which are better starting points when portability matters more than maximum channel count.
What the shared ecosystem means for your decision
Because both sit under the same research hardware and software structure, the choice is less about isolated boxes and more about which acquisition path fits your lab's existing workflow. The site groups research software into acquisition and experiment control, data analysis, file converters and utilities, hardware control, video tracking, development drivers and firmware, plus Python and MATLAB-Netcom utilities. In practice, that means either system should be evaluated alongside the analysis and conversion tools your team already uses, rather than on channel count alone.
A concrete next step
Write down your target channel count, whether you need stimulation on the same system, and whether closed-loop processing is required. If your ceiling is near 1024 channels with stimulation, the Digital Lynx + is the stronger match; if your priority is an expandable closed-loop recording rig, the Digital Lynx SX is the more direct comparison. Then confirm the exact configuration and compatibility details with NeuraLynx, since the site's overview does not spell out every specification for either system.
What software tools does NeuraLynx offer for spike sorting and data analysis?
NeuraLynx's software lineup is organized around the acquisition-to-analysis workflow rather than a single spike-sorting product. The Research Software category on the site lists Acquisition & Experiment Control, Data Analysis, File Converters & Utilities, Hardware Control, Video Tracking, and Development (Drivers & Firmware, Python Utilities, MATLAB-Netcom Utilities).
For spike sorting specifically, the page evidence does not name a dedicated sorter. The closest fit is the Data Analysis category, which sits alongside acquisition and file-conversion tools. In practice, this means you would typically record with their acquisition software, then move data into a sorter of your choice after converting file formats.
What each software group is for
- Acquisition & Experiment Control — running recordings and managing experiment timing.
- Data Analysis — post-recording processing, where spike sorting and related analysis would live.
- File Converters & Utilities — moving data out of NeuraLynx's native format into tools like MATLAB or Python.
- Hardware Control — configuring and driving acquisition hardware.
- Video Tracking — synchronizing behavioral video with neural data.
- Development tools — Python Utilities, MATLAB-Netcom Utilities, and Drivers & Firmware for building your own pipeline.
A practical reader scenario
A lab recording multi-channel data on a Digital Lynx system would acquire with the experiment-control software, use a converter to export to a common format, then sort spikes in an external package such as Kilosort or Phy, or in MATLAB with MATLAB. The Python and MATLAB-Netcom utilities matter here because they let you script the handoff instead of exporting by hand. If you already have a sorter you trust, the key question is whether a converter exists for your file type — check the File Converters & Utilities list before committing to a workflow.
Next step: open the Research Software section on NeuraLynx's site and confirm which converter outputs match your sorter's required input format.
How can I integrate optogenetics with NeuraLynx's data acquisition systems?
NeuraLynx approaches optogenetics as an add-on to its recording chain rather than a separate product line. The company lists an optogenetics section alongside commutators, headstages, and animal interfaces, so the practical integration path is: deliver light to the brain through a commutator, combine it with a headstage that also carries your recording channels, and let the acquisition software handle timing and experiment control.
Where optogenetics fits in the hardware chain
- Saturn commutator — the listed optogenetics item. A commutator's job is to pass both electrical signals and optical fibers while the animal moves freely, so this is the part that lets chronic recordings and light delivery coexist without tangling.
- Digital Lynx + / Digital Lynx SX — the acquisition systems, described as multichannel, low-noise, and expandable, with the Digital Lynx + offered at up to 1024 channels for recording and stimulation.
- Headstages, EIBs, tether cables, adapters — the interface hardware that determines how many recording channels you can route alongside your optical implant.
- Acquisition and experiment control software — the layer that synchronizes light pulses with recorded neural data.
What to decide before buying
The main trade-off is channel count versus headstage weight and cable complexity. Every recording channel you add to a freely moving animal is more weight and more tether stiffness, and an optical fiber adds its own. If your experiment needs many channels plus stimulation, a commutator-based tethered setup is the realistic route; if you need lighter payloads, fewer channels per animal is the compromise. A second decision is whether you want stimulation channels on the acquisition system itself (the Digital Lynx + is described as supporting recording and stimulation) or a separate light source triggered by a timing signal.
A concrete starting scenario
Suppose you want to record 32 channels from medial prefrontal cortex while stimulating channelrhodopsin-expressing terminals in a freely moving mouse. You would need an optical implant, a commutator that handles both the fiber and the tether, a headstage matching your channel count, and experiment-control software that emits transistor-transistor logic pulses to your laser while logging the recording. Confirm the headstage and commutator combination supports your fiber diameter and channel count before ordering, since those two parts constrain each other.
Next step
Download the research software and hardware documentation from the site to check which acquisition software versions support stimulation timing, then contact NeuraLynx support with your channel count, fiber type, and species. For background on optogenetics methods independent of any vendor, Neuronline and OpenOptogenetics are useful general references.
What support and maintenance plans are available for NeuraLynx systems?
NeuraLynx lists a System Maintenance Plan as a distinct offering, reachable from both its Support menu and its Company menu. It also provides support resources such as an RMA process for product returns, a Remote Desktop App, and a Documents section. So the practical answer is that ongoing care is organised around a maintenance plan plus RMA and documentation support, rather than a set of separately named tiers.
What the site indicates
- System Maintenance Plan — the named plan for keeping systems serviced.
- Product Returns & RMAs — the route for repairs, replacements or returns.
- Support Home — the entry point for support resources.
- Remote Desktop App — remote assistance for troubleshooting.
- Documents — manuals and reference material.
- Quality & Regulatory — compliance information, relevant for clinical users.
How to choose
The right route depends less on the plan name and more on your situation:
| Your situation | Likely starting point |
|---|---|
| Equipment needs repair or replacement | Product Returns & RMAs |
| Software or configuration problem | Support Home, then Remote Desktop App |
| Clinical system with compliance needs | Quality & Regulatory plus the maintenance plan |
| You want to self-serve | Documents |
Next step
Contact NeuraLynx directly to confirm what the System Maintenance Plan covers, its term and response expectations, since the site names the plan but does not spell out those details. Have your system model ready — for example Digital Lynx +, Digital Lynx SX, FreeLynx or LabLynx on the research side, or the ATLAS and Pegasus products clinically — because coverage and support paths may differ between research and clinical hardware. If you are weighing alternatives, NeuraLynx is the authoritative source for its own plans.
What clinical neurophysiology products does NeuraLynx provide for intraoperative monitoring?
NeuraLynx's clinical line centers on the ATLAS Neurophysiology System, a modular platform for intraoperative monitoring rather than a single boxed product. The site lists a clinical overview plus hardware, software, components and accessories, and the clinical hardware headings include the ATLAS Acquisition Amplifier, ATLAS Combo Board and ATLAS Workstation, alongside Pegasus software. Around those core items sit the supporting parts an OR setup usually needs: ATLAS Headboxes, fixed and modular headstages, a stim headbox, signal splitter cables (including Nihon Kohden and touchproof versions), an analog isolator, tether and interconnect cables, a patient event marker, and a TTL isolator. There is also a clinical cart.
How the pieces fit together:
- Acquisition and amplification: ATLAS Acquisition Amplifier and ATLAS Combo Board.
- Control and review: Pegasus Software and the ATLAS Workstation.
- Signal routing and safety: splitters, isolator, tether/interconnect cables, TTL isolator.
- Patient-side interfacing: headboxes and headstages, plus a patient event marker for annotating events during a case.
- Mobility: the clinical cart.
For a monitoring lead specifying a system, the practical next step is to map your existing recording and stimulation channels against the clinical hardware list, then confirm which headstage and splitter configuration matches your amplifier and your hospital's equipment. The modular headstages and Nihon Kohden splitter cables matter most if you need to share signals with an existing EEG or neuromonitoring rig; the TTL isolator and patient event marker matter if you need clean synchronization and event logging. Budget and channel-count details are not stated here, so request them directly from the vendor.
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