MEA Automation Module

The MEA Automation Module is designed for Maestro Pro and Maestro Edge systems, facilitating the automation of MEA experiments through an application programming interface (API) within AxIS Navigator. This API boasts compatibility with various liquid handling platforms, enabling seamless integration with your existing robotic systems to enhance operational efficiency and throughput.

By utilizing the MEA Automation Module, laboratories can automate several tasks associated with Maestro assays. These tasks include preparing plates, conducting media changes, administering drug doses, managing the movement of plates in and out of the Maestro systems, and acquiring as well as analyzing MEA data. The flexibility of the API is further demonstrated by its support for multiple programming languages, such as C#, Python, and MATLAB, among others, making it versatile across different robotic setups.

Key Features

• Dock and undock plates, and manage the opening and closing of system doors.
• Adjust and monitor environmental conditions like temperature and CO2 levels.
• Load various configurations, including plate maps and acquisition/analysis settings.
• Retrieve specific plate information such as barcode details and plate type.
• Control data acquisition processes with play, pause, and stop functionalities.
• Add annotations and dose tags for comprehensive experiment documentation.
• Store experiment-specific information like the experimenter's name within files.
• Load stimulation files and initiate stimulation procedures.

The integration with robotic liquid handling systems provides critical benefits for workflows involving cardiac and neural development assays. Applications vary from tracking cardiac cell differentiation and evaluating potential proarrhythmic risks to monitoring neural development and quantifying network dynamics. The MEA Automation Module supports both acute and chronic exposure studies, making it an essential component for detailed analysis of neuroactive compound properties.