CHICAGO, Oct. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- State-of-the art neurotechnologies for brain research, especially instrumentation, are often expensive, and are limited to a few elite and established laboratories.
A new technology-as-a-service initiative called "Thousand Neurons", launched today by Inscopix at the 2015 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, allows neuroscientists to economically acquire the nVista microscopy system, a cutting edge technology for large-scale brain activity imaging in freely behaving animals, through a $1,000 per month subscription plan.
"There is an urgent need to level the playing field by democratizing access to new neurotechnologies to a wider spectrum of researchers. The magnitude of the mapping goals set forth by the BRAIN Initiative demands a dramatic shift within the neuroscience community," says Kunal Ghosh, Ph.D., CEO of Inscopix.
The "Thousand Neurons" program is available first to participants in the Neuroscience Early Access Program (NEAP), which has enrolled more than 100 labs worldwide, ranging from Nobel Laureates to early career investigators. In 2015 alone, NEAP investigators published six research articles in prestigious journals such as Nature, Cell, and Neuron.
NEAP investigators have also contributed to development of new technologies, including Inscopix's latest product, the ProViewTM Implant Kit, which is a surgical device to boost experimental efficiency.
"Thousand Neurons" is the latest effort by Inscopix to democratize access to its technologies. Last year, Inscopix awarded $2 million in instrumentation grants to neuroscience researchers through its DECODE (Deciphering Circuit Basis of Disease) Grant Program, which was established in response to President Obama's "all hands on deck" call to action for the BRAIN Initiative. A blue-ribbon committee comprising of the world's leading neuroscientists and brain disease experts, Eric Nestler (Mt. Sinai), Guoping Feng (MIT), Stacie Weninger (Fidelity Biosciences Research Initiative), Mark Schnitzer (HHMI/Stanford), and Huda Zoghbi (HHMI/Baylor), selected thirteen awardees, who received their awards in early 2015. Six of the awardees are early career stage investigators.
About Inscopix:
Inscopix is a discovery-phase neuroscience company in Palo Alto, CA, that develops integrated solutions for understanding the brain in action. Inscopix serves its clients in over a hundred academic and neuropharmaceutical research laboratories through its flagship brain imaging product, nVista, data analytics suite, Mosaic, and training workshops. Inscopix is pursuing a rigorous science-centric approach to technological innovation, creating unprecedented opportunities to advance fundamental brain research and the development of treatments for brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism.
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SOURCE Inscopix, Inc.
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