Design Of The Optical Fiber Rotating Connector For Optogenetics

Neuroscience is most popular research area. The United States of America and European Union have successfully invested a huge sum of money. Our government has already started relevant plans in this field. Research of brain science in the coming years will be rapidly developed. Optogenetics are the most important techniques in brain research, which combine optics with genetics to control neuronal activities and functions by inserting fiber into the specific area of brain. When we study behavior of animals by optogenetic technology, the effectiveness of optical fiber is quite important. Because of the twisting of fiber caused by animal movements, the generated torque will directly hinder animal movements and damage the fiber, which will result in failure of the experiments.To solve this problem, one of the most common methods is installed of a rotating equipment between the laser and the animal, which is generally achieved by a joint called the fiber optic rotary joint. The commercial fiber optic rotary joint is of good quality, but its high cost becomes limitation. The domestic fiber optic rotary joint is mostly used in optical communications, barely in optogenetics field. This paper initially achieves the high efficiency of adjustable fiber optic rotary joint for optogenetic experiments. The adjustable fiber optic rotary joint is established by bearings and the mechanical structures. Researchers can conveniently connect the fiber patch cables to the both sides of fiber optic rotary joint. One is fixed and the other side is free, which can avoid the fiber twisting. Thereby we can ensure the transmission efficiency and stability of the optical fiber. During experiments the optical power will loss to some degree, but it is acceptable, which can largely reduce the costs of production. Therefore, this character will make it widely and efficiently used in different animal behavior experiments.