how to detect chip configuration from mcd file using neuroshare

I use neuroshare to read mcd files into Matlab.
We are using chips of various layouts (8x8, 6x10 etc). It seems that neuroshare
doesn't have any fields that indicate the chip layout. Does anybody know a
way to detect it?

RBakker

You can either take the entity name for identifying the channels (which you should do always, because entity order is arbitrary). The coding of the name is described in the manual:

Naming convention for entities
The entities are named as follow:
• 8 letter: stream name with:
- 4 letters name
- 4 digits stream number.
• Space
• 4 letters: HWID
• Space
• 4 digits: index of channel
• Space
• 8 letters: name of channel (right justified)
From here on, this applies only to event entities of digital data:
• Space
• 2 digits sub channel for events of digital data
for example:
aaaa0000 0000 0000 xxxxxxxx 00
elec0001 0001 0000 21
digi0001 0063 0001 D1
digi0001 0063 0001 D1 02

And you can use the dLocationX and dLocationY field from the ns_ANALOGINFO or ns_SEGSOURCEINFO (depending on the entity type) for the position of the channel.

Jens

Thanks a lot for this answer, I had overlooked PositionX and -Y.
Interestingly, for the mcd file that I tested, these values show a 1mm spacing between
electrodes which is far too large;
I suspect that mc_rack cannot detect the spacing of the chip and it should be entered
manually. Anyway, even with 1mm spacing the location values are useful.

RBakker