Neural Interface Volume
Neural interface volume is the volume of tissue enclosed by the electrode sites of a design in three dimensions, in cubic millimetres; it is the size of the region the design interfaces with, and the number to match against the size of the structure being targeted.
It is computed as the convex hull of the site positions: a single-shank design encloses a thin sliver along its span, a multi-shank design a slab the width of its footprint, and a Matrix 3D array a block.
The volume is a comparison tool more than a design field. It lets a 64-site single-shank design and a 64-site 4-shank design be compared on the region each covers rather than on the site count they share, and it is the denominator of brain coverage density, the fair density measure across shank counts. A volume larger than the target spends sites outside it; one smaller than the target samples part of it, which may be the intent — a laminar profile through a column — or a limitation. It has no field of its own in a probe name and is published in the design space from the site positions.
Typical values
| Catalog silicon probes | 0.0004 to 4.8 mm³; about 0.05 mm³ is the median |
|---|---|
| Computed as | convex hull of the site positions |
| Design-space parameter | Neural interface volume (interfaceVolMm3) |