May 13, 2022
In a previous post, we discussed the advantage of embedding headstage with the electrode. The biggest barrier for many to adopt this technique is to overcome the concern about re-usability. Here we offer some tips that will increase the success rate.
Dental acrylic is commonly used to anchor implant materials on the skull. Recovering the X-Headstage™ means separating the headstage, and ideally the electrode, from the acrylic at the end of the experiment, likely after the brain has been perfused and extracted. Dental acrylic can be softened and dissolved by acetone. Leaving the extracted implant overnight will soften the acrylic enough so that it can be peeled and broken off from the X-Headstage™. To minimize particles from clogging the connector pins during the soaking/detaching stage, it is recommended to apply a thin layer of Vaseline around the XHS probe connectors during the embedding step. Also during the application and dissolving step it is a good practice to plug in the cable to prevent accidentally dripping acrylic into the connector.
In summary:
Embedding X-Headstage™
Recovering X-Headstage™
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