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Neuropixels NXT: Integrated Silicon Probes for Large Scale Extracellular Recording in Rodents and Primates

Award Number: U01NS115587
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2026

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Neuropixels NXT: Integrated Silicon Probes for Large Scale Extracellular Recording in Rodents and Primates - 1 Project Summary: The BRAIN 2025 Report, with the goal to “produce a dynamic picture of the functioning brain 2 by developing and applying improved methods for large-scale monitoring of neural activity” is directly 3 addressed by this application. The Neuropixels probe (Jun et al., Nature 2017) demonstrated that a high 4 channel count Si shank with continuous, dense, programmable sites yielded a large capacity increase in 5 monitoring of neural activity (100's vs. 10's of units for typical devices). Neuropixels NXT will increase 6 substantially the utility of that high capacity shank by optimizing and deploying a new platform technology for 7 neural recording, direct-to-digital. Neuropixels, while revolutionary over prior art, has an integrated probe 8 “base” for amplification and digitization and a digital interface board (head stage) that both reside above the 9 brain. Together, the crowding of these components above the brain limits the number of shanks that can be 10 used in one experimental animal. Follow-on projects are already underway to relieve this crowding and weight 11 such that we expect 2 Neuropixels probes (768 channels of recording capacity) could be used on a freely 12 moving, tethered mouse. While this represents a substantial improvement, it remains far short of the brain wide 13 recording that satisfies the above stated ambition to “produce a dynamic picture of the functioning brain”. 14 Building on the demonstrated performance of the Neuropixels shank, we propose to optimize the base 15 electronics so that a probe with ~768 channels would have a base of < 5mm2 (an 18x shrinkage of the base 16 area per channel compared to Neuropixels, and 6x shrinkage compared to Neuropixels 2.0), require no extra 17 digital interface board (head stage), and instead have a 6-conductor micro-cable between the probe and a high 18 speed data hub for digital transmission that can handle multiple probes simultaneously. This smaller probe 19 base will allow it to be made narrow so that each probe will act as a “unit shank” that can be tiled side-to-side 20 into a “comb”, and combs stacked into 2 dimensional arrays of shanks, yielding dense 3 dimensional arrays of 21 programmable recording sites. We project capacities of >16 shanks (9600 sites/channels, all active) in a 22 mouse, 40 shanks (40,000+ programmable sites, 26,000+ channels) in a rat, and up to 100 shanks (450,000 23 programmable sites, 76.800 channels) in a non-human primate. The work plan will first optimize: 1) the design 24 of the direct-to-digital recording channel pixel for size/noise tradeoff, and 2) the data hub to allow up to 12 25 probes to be served by a single output cable. With this information, a family of “unit shanks” will be produced, 26 ready for sale to the research community, which can be fixtured into a wide variety of recording geometries. 27 These developments in an environment capable of long term manufacture and affordable costs will ensure 28 wide availability.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2024	THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	4	9/25/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $3,071,086 )
2024	2024	THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	4	7/26/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$3,071,086
2024	2024	THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	001	4	9/13/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $3,071,086

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2023	2022	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THE	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	3	7/31/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $3,814,529 )
2022	2022	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THE	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	002	3	7/15/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$3,814,529
2022	2021	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THE	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	001	2	7/14/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2022	2021	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THE	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	2	11/3/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $3,814,529

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $3,116,817 )
2021	2021	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THE	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	2	8/24/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$3,116,817
2021	2021	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THE	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	001	2	9/24/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $3,116,817

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $3,069,339 )
2020	2020	JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, THE	3400 N CHARLES ST	BALTIMORE	MD	21218	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	1	8/17/2020	NEW	$3,069,339
														Subtotal = $3,069,339

Grand Total All Awards = $13,071,771

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Neuropixels NXT: Integrated Silicon Probes for Large Scale Extracellular Recording in Rodents and Primates

Award Number: U01NS115587

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2026

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