WLMS v0 2 1-motherboard panel

Miniscope Zero

Repository for Miniscope Zero: a fully wireless, single-cell-resolution miniature microscope for imaging neural dynamics in freely behaving animals.

Miniscope Zero is a miniature one-photon microscope that operates without tethers: power is delivered via quasistatic cavity resonance (QSCR) wireless power transfer, and imaging data is streamed over a high-bandwidth optical link. This repository hosts the project-specific hardware designs — the miniscope, the optical data acquisition hardware, and the QSCR arena — and points to the related software and hardware repositories.

• Preprint: bioRxiv (doi:10.64898/2026.09.05.745822)
• Data: UCLA Dataverse (see Datasets)
• Wiki: https://miniscope.org/wiki/Miniscope_Zero
• License: CERN-OHL-S v2 — bundled code retains its original license where noted: the vendored Miniscope-SAMD-Framework snapshot (MS_module) is AGPL-3.0, and Microchip ASF/Atmel START driver code keeps Microchip's license

Co-led by Takuya Sasatani (@t-sasatani) and Marcel Brosch (@MarcelMB).

Demonstration video

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/aa9ec822-df9f-4f50-9b2d-21a6ab23955f

Repository contents

MiniscopeZero/                      Wireless miniscope
├── Firmware/                       SAMD51 firmware (Microchip Studio project)
├── Optics/                         Optical system
│   ├── optics_bom.csv              Bill of materials for the optical path
│   ├── mechanical/                 Dimensioned drawing of the optical assembly
│   ├── zemax/                      Zemax OpticStudio sequential design files
│   ├── housing/                    3D-printed housing: STEP, Fusion archive, per-body STLs
│   └── baseplate/                  CNC-machined baseplate, 3D-printed dust cap,
│                                   and set-screw hardware list
└── PCB/                            Electronics
    ├── WLMS-v0_2_1-motherboard/    Main board: PYTHON480 image sensor, MCU, PMU,
    │                               excitation LED, IR receiver
    ├── WLMS-v0_2_9_daughterboard/  Power/uplink board: rectifier, pre-regulator,
    │                               TX LED for the optical data link
    └── WPT_receiver/               Rectangular wireless power receiver coils

OpticalDAQ/                         Receiver-side data acquisition hardware
├── PCB/
│   ├── optical_daq_v0_4/           Photoreceiver front end: VGA board and digitizer board
│   ├── optical_downlink_v0_2/      USB board for the IR downlink
│   └── FPGA_breakout/              Breakout board for the Opal Kelly XEM7310 FPGA module
└── Housing/                        CNC aluminum shield box

QSCR/                               Quasistatic cavity resonance power-transfer arena

Datasets

Data accompanying the paper are archived in the Miniscope Zero collection on UCLA Dataverse:

• Figure source data and hardware characterization (doi:10.25346/S6VGDP7C)
• Open-field place cell recordings (doi:10.25346/S6PNI5WP)
• 3D maze, multi-level arena and complex environment recordings (doi:10.25346/S6684SQV)
• Behavior tracking and histology (doi:10.25346/S6ZWUJWY)

Related repositories (developed by authors)

• mio (Miniscope-I/O) — data acquisition, synchronization, and preprocessing
• CaMAP — calcium imaging mapping and analysis pipeline
• miniscope_preproc — preprocessing for Miniscope Zero calcium imaging videos
• wpt-devkit — wireless power transmitter
• FuzzyTrack — diffused LED position tracking
• Miniscope-SAMD-Framework — firmware framework template; Firmware/.../MS_module is a minimal vendored snapshot of v0.3.1

Hardware modules

Off-the-shelf or reference modules used in the system:

• Hamamatsu C15522-3010SA — SiPM (MPPC) module, receiver for the optical data link
• EPC9065 — high-frequency ZVS class-D power amplifier, drives the QSCR cavity
• Opal Kelly XEM7310 — Artix-7 FPGA board for data acquisition

Batteries

• Powerstream GM041215 — Low weight miniature lithium ion battery, 45mAH, 3.7V, 4x12x15 mm, 1 g
• Powerstream GM300910 — Low weight miniature lithium ion battery, 11mAH, 3.7V, 3x9x10 mm, 0.33 g

Contributing

This repository primarily archives the design files accompanying the paper, so pull requests are unlikely to be merged. Questions and issue reports are welcome via the issue tracker, though we cannot guarantee a response.

Wireless system video

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/bc67a5da-3641-4dcf-a8c2-b1db79f1c406

Citing

If you use this work, please cite the preprint — BibTeX in CITATION.bib, or use GitHub's "Cite this repository" button.