Robotic Listeners to the Whispers of Brain Neurons-Robotic Patch Clamp Systems for Brain Science Research

A development history of the robotic patch clamp system is reviewed firstly according to the upgrading of operation targets and the improvement of operation methods. Then, the robotic patch clamp system for the brain science research of awaken non-human primates, which is one of the highly-demanded devices in human brain science research, is focused in this paper. The 5 main challenges in the robotic patch clamp operation for awaken non-human primates, including display of the working environment, localization of the target cell and operation tool, motion control of the operation tool, processing of the measurement signal, and immobilization of awaken animal, are analyzed to determine the potential solutions for these challenges. Finally, the development directions of the robotic patch clamp system for brain science research in the future are predicted based on the above work.