What do the flex cable, the headstage and the FPGA each do in a recording? · Lobeworks/17

The flex cable, a flexible printed circuit, carries power, clock, configuration and the already digital data between the probe and the headstage without pulling on the shank.

What do the flex cable, the headstage and the FPGA each do in a recording?

The flex cable, a flexible printed circuit, carries power, clock, configuration and the already digital data between the probe and the headstage without pulling on the shank. The headstage, a small board near the head, powers the probe and relays its data on a longer cable. The FPGA on the acquisition card, a chip whose logic is configured for the job, receives the high-rate stream in real time and orders it for the computer; none of them senses anything.