The highly advanced stereotaxic system STS100 has been developed in close collaboration of scientists and lab technicians of the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (www.cncr.nl) with staff of the fine mechanics and electronics departments of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The STS100 (Fig. 1) is adjustable for both right- and left-handed users. It has two arms with a drill and a pin/electrode holder that can be rotated and locked for stabile drilling and other surgical procedures
Features
STS100 includes the parts needed for all typical experiments
ULTIMATE STABILITY and ADJUSTABILITY
User friendliness for very FAST and ultimately PRECISE surgical procedures such as chronic cannula implantations (see References below)
ULTIMATE FLEXIBILITY for adjusting the system to different needs such as viral vector injections or in vivo electrophysiology. A variety of standard components can be added to the two arms on the same platform to meet all (advanced) experimental needs.
The STS100 includes a HEATING SYSTEM to maintain body temperature during the surgical procedure.
The STS100 includes a fixed DRILL and can be used for surgery instantly upon delivery - at least with injectable anesthesia if a gas anesthesia system is not available!
Standard system components
Stable aluminum base plate with four feet.
Two rotating arms:
Arm 1 with drill with fine and course manual Z-axis drive (dynamic range 7cm)
Arm 2 with cannula fixation pin or electrode holder
Animal platform with horizontal X- and Y-axis adjustment
X-Y indicators with 1 µm resolution that are resettable (e.g., after drill alignment to Bregma)
Heating block for body temperature control. Low noise temperature controller with an accuracy of +/- 0.2 0C, a resolution of 0.1°C and a maximum of 40°C. No rectal probe is required.
Nose adaptor for stabile head fixation for use with gas anesthesia or to inject anesthesia.
Electrode holder for glass micro-electrodes (range: 0.5-2 mm diameter)