R2 metal implantation system

The R2 metal implantation system handles the full life of a probe once it is on an R2drive or R2rail: preparation, implantation, explantation, clean-up and storage. At its heart is a micromachined stainless-steel holder with an orthogonal wedge clamp. The clamp screw is tightened from above, alongside the stereotaxic rod, and presses a flat face sideways against the drive, so it grips firmly without twisting it. Seen from above, the holder takes 4.5× less space than the 3D-printed holder, leaving room for multiple implants, head bars and other headgear.

For surgery, the holder mounts on the stereotactic adapter, an 8 mm stainless-steel rod that fits common stereotaxes in place of the standard electrode holder. Between experiments, the holder moves into the R2 assembly and storage case with drive and probe still mounted. The case aligns the drive on its machined lip, so loading a new probe is a matter of placing it and adding a drop of glue. Connector baskets in the case and on the adapter hold the connector/EIB and let you set the flex-cable tension.