Development of front-end ASICs for imaging neuronal activity in live tissue

Imaging neuronal activity in live neural tissue using microelectrode arrays is becoming an important experimental technique in various areas of neuroscience. Significant progress in this area has become possible by employing the ASIC technique for building front-end electronics. The requirements for the front-end electronics to record neuronal signals from live tissue using microelectrode arrays are discussed. Noise analysis of the front-end system and designs of the front-end ASICs developed are presented. The readout system for a 512-electrode array used for retina study is described.