This week we continued to develop the NeuroStimDuino library by adding more functions and capabilities. NeuroStimDuino can now measure its own current output from both channels, thanks to its on-board current sense amplifier (TSC2012).

Below we have shown traces of NeuroStimDuino’s current outputs for different amplitude settings. The stimulation duration was set at 500 microseconds and the waveform shape can be set as symmetrical or asymmetrical. Most importantly, we are sampling the current output at a high frequency (20kHz) so as to maintain sufficient signal fidelity. From the waveform it’s clear that NeuroStimDuino can generate about 50 mAp-p current at the maximum setting, which is more that enough for most neurostimulation experiments.

Signal traces were obtained above by averaging 10 trials for each amplitude setting in order to minimize background noise.

Tips

For bench testing like the above, you should ensure that your batteries are fully charged. We used two 18650s, connected in series, and the DC voltage was 8.31 V