HEKA Patch Clamp Setups

Recommended Configuration for 1. Patch Clamp equipment 2. Computer System Requirements (Macintosh and PC)
1. Patch Clamp equipment
HEKA offers six patch clamp amplifiers. Each instrument is suitable for both whole cell and single channel recordings. All amplifiers include voltage clamp and current clamp mode, filters, capacitance compensation, and series resistance circuitry. The software controlled EPC 10 family patch clamp amplifiers set the highest standard for electrophysiological data acquisition systems; and in combination with our PATCHMASTER software, they are best suitable for complying with GLP rules and FDA regulations. A data acquisition system for patch clamp experiments consists of an amplifier, an interface with AD/DA converter, a computer and software. Below you find our recommendations for complete data acquisition systems to be connected to a computer. See our brochures for details.

1.1 Computer Control of EPC 10 Patch Clamp Amplifiers

On Windows operating systems, the EPC 10 family of patch clamp amplifiers are supported by our acquisition software packages PATCHMASTER and TIDA 5.x.
TIDA does not yet support the new USB amplifiers and LIH 8+8 interfaces!
On Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X , the EPC 10 family of patch clamp amplifiers are supported by our new multichannel acquisition/stimulation software package PATCHMASTER. The new "Intel Macs" (Mac Pro) are supported by Patchmaster 2.30 or above !

Patch clamp Set EPC 10	Patch clamp Set EPC 10 Triple
The EPC 10 USB is completely controlled by software. This allows simple operation and automatic control of routine adjustments as parameter settings, capacity compensation, series resistance compensation. The integration of the A/D D/A converter in the amplifier housing reduces noise, grounding problems and the need of additional cables.	Three fully computer-controlled Patch Clamp amplifiers with built-in A/D D/A interface.
EPC 10 USB Patch Clamp amplifier including headstage and pipette holder Software PATCHMASTER or TIDA optional: additional software for analysis	EPC 10 USB Triple Patch Clamp amplifier including 3 headstages and 3 pipette holders Software PATCHMASTER or TIDA optional: additional software for analysis
Patch clamp Set EPC 10 Double	Patch clamp Set EPC 10 Plus
Two fully computer-controlled Patch Clamp amplifiers with built-in A/D D/A interface.	The EPC 10 Plus is completely controlled by software. This allows for simple operation and automatic control of routine adjustments as parameter settings, capacitance compensation, series resistance compensation. The integration of the A/D D/A converter in the amplifier housing reduces noise, grounding problems, and eliminates the need of additional cables.
EPC 10 USB Double Patch Clamp amplifier including 2 headstages and 2 pipette holders Software PATCHMASTER or TIDA optional: additional software for analysis	EPC 10 Plus amplifier including headstage and pipette holder and PCI-18 board Software PATCHMASTER optional: additional software for analysis

1.2 Computer Control of EPC 8 and EVA 8 amplifiers
On Windows operating systems, the EPC 8/EVA 8 can be controlled via the interfaces LIH 8+8 by our acquisition software packages PATCHMASTER, and TIDA. On Mac OS 9, the EPC 8/EVA 8 is supported in combination with the LIH 8+8 by the PATCHMASTER software. On Mac OS X, the EPC 8/EVA 8 is supported in combination with the LIH 8+8 by the PATCHMASTER software.

Patch clamp Set EPC 8	Voltammetric Amplifier EVA 8
The EPC 8 - successor of the EPC 7 - is a stand-alone amplifier with manual controls. The following functions can also be controlled by software: gain, mode, filter setting, and phase tracking. As stand-alone amplifier, it can be combined with any data acquisition system. In order to use the software-controlled functions, it must be driven by our software PATCHMASTER or TIDA in combination with the LIH 8+8. Alternatively, an user can write his own software to control the amplifier and connect the EPC 8 to a computer board with 16-bit parallel port.	The EVA 8 is a stand-alone voltammetric amplifier for microelectrode technology with manual controls. The following functions can also be controlled by software: gain, mode, filter setting. As a stand-alone amplifier, it can be combined with any data acquisition system. In order to use the software-controlled functions, it must be driven by our software PATCHMASTER in combination with the LIH 8+8 data acquisition system.
EPC 8 Patch Clamp amplifier including headstage and pipette holder, cable to LIH 8+8 LIH 8+8 acquisition interface Software PATCHMASTER or TIDA optional: software for acquisition and analysis	EVA 8 amplifier including Preamplifier and pipette holder, cable to LIH 8+8 digital port LIH 8+8 acquisition interface Software PATCHMASTER optional: additional software for analysis or: EVA 8 amplifier including Preamplifier and pipette holder, cable to ITC-18 digital port Software PATCHMASTER optional: additional software for analysis

Patch clamp Set EPC 7 PLUS
The EPC 7 is a stand-alone amplifier with manual controls and can be combined with any data acquisition system.
EPC 7 PLUS amplifier including headstage and pipette holder LIH 8+8 acquisition interface Software PATCHMASTER or TIDA optional: additional software for analysis

Hardware	Software
Patch clamp amplifiers Each amplifier includes headstage(s), one model circuit, pipette holder(s), and a manual. The EPC 10 family amplifiers are fully software controlled and feature a built-in AD/DA converter interface. The EPC 8 and EPC 7 PLUS are stand-alone amplifiers and can also be connected to any data acquisition system. The EVA 8 is a stand-alone voltammetric amplifier for microelectrode technology with manual controls. The EVA 8 offers the possibility of remote control via a digital interface. LIH 8+8 Interface with 2 AD and 4 DA converters, for sampling of 8 analog signals, output of 4 analog signals, 16 TTL outputs and inputs, two 200 kHz 16 bit A/D converters. USB cable for connecting the LIH 8+8 to PC or Macintosh computer.	PATCHMASTER Multi-channel acquisition/stimulation patch clamp software for acquisition and analysis running under Windows and Mac OS. Supporting up to 4 (8) stimulation (DA) and 8 (16) acquisition (AD) channels. TIDA Electrophysiological software for data acquisition, hardware control and analysis. The software for self-calibration and testing of the amplifier EPC 10 is included. For Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP. TAC Software for single channel analysis for MacOS 8 and 9 and Windows. DataAccess Software for import of PATCHMASTER and PULSE data to SigmaPlot, Microsoft Excel, Visual Basic, Origin and IGOR Pro. For MacOS and Windows. IGOR Pro Software for graphing and data analysis for MacOS and Windows. Origin Software for graphing and data analysis for Windows. SigmaPlot Software for graphing and data analysis for Windows ME/NT 4.0/2000/XP.
Additional Equipment
TIB 14 trigger output box for controlling additional hardware Perfusion systems MIM 4 motorized 3-axis Micromanipulator with video option. Control via joystick and software. Running under Windows 98SE, 2000, XP. PIP 5 temperature-controlled micro pipette puller. Stand-alone faraday cage for noise reduction.

2. Computer System Requirements (Macintosh and PC)

The computer configuration depends on the actual needs of your experiments, e.g. sampling rate and duration of continuous data acquisition. While the recommended computer configuration is sufficient for most patch clamp experiments, the configuration may have to be extended for more demanding experiments. For fast continuous data acquisition it may be necessary to temporarily write data to RAM rather than directly to disk. This option requires a RAM size large enough to accommodate the data in memory. Furthermore, a well equipped computer reduces the time required for data storage, and also makes data analysis more convenient. If you intend to run other programs simultaneously with our data acquisition software, e.g. for photometric measurements, a fast computer can help to avoid timing problems. For external data storage, CD writer, ZIP disks or optical disks are recommended --> Computer configuration.