Revision 15.00 / LB-0028
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Cerebus Instructions for Use
12
Neural Signal Processor (NSP)
The NSP is a real-time processor of the Cerebus System which performs all the digital processing,
including filtering, spike extraction, spike sorting, and so on. The NSP is built upon a real-time Linux
system capable of onboard closed loop processing and rapid data transmission to the Host PC through
Ethernet UDP protocol. The NSP has multiple auxiliary analog and digital inputs and outputs that can be
programmed through the Cerebus Central Software Suite or one of the supplied Software Development
Kits (SDKs). The NSP can also perform real-time closed loop analysis via the Extension Code user-
developed applications and communicate the results via the auxiliary ports to third-party equipment or
via the Ethernet link to the host PC. Multiple NSPs may also be synchronized for recording signals from
more electrodes.
The hardware and architecture inside the NSP are both periodically optimized to improve the overall
performance and reliability of the system. Blackrock Microsystems has so far released four different
versions of the NSP mentioned below:
•
NSP 1.0 (Part number 4176)
•
NSP 1.5 (Part number 7530)
•
NSP 1.75 (Part number 9650)
•
NSP 2.0 (Part number 10411)
NSP 1.0 architecture was based on an Intel
®
Pentium 4 processor. The processor in the NSP 1.5 was
upgraded to multi-core Intel
®
i7 technology. The mentioned upgrade provides users with the NSP versions
1.5 and above an option to directly upload their custom-built software into the NSP for real-time
execution via the
Blackrock’s Extension Software
package. For detailed information about Extension
software and example application notes, please refer to
www.blackrockmicro.com
.
NSP 2.0 is equipped with an additional fiber optic input link therefore it can receive and process 256
channels of neural data simultaneously. All previous versions of the NSP can handle maximum 128
channels via a single fiber optic link.
