Neuropixels NXT / NP3.0 prototype
Neuropixels NXT, planned NP3.0
Neuropixels Central’s August 2026 announcement calls NXT the development name and NP3.0 the name planned for purchase availability. Its current technology page identifies a Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering project led by Tim Harris with Dan O’Connor as co-investigator and imec as design/manufacturing partner. The Harris lab brief distinguishes that group from Johns Hopkins APL.
Official prototype configuration
| Feature | Neuropixels Central’s report |
|---|---|
| Simultaneous channels | 1,536 |
| Shanks | Four |
| Geometry and site layout | Same shank geometry/site layout as Neuropixels 2.0 |
| Concentrated mapping | Up to 912 of the 1,536 channels can map to one shank |
| Test setting | Awake, tethered mice and rats, per the access announcement |
This is not Neuropixels 2.0 Quad Base. Quad Base assigns 384 channels to each shank; NXT’s reported concentration of up to 912 on one shank is a different mapping capability. The common total does not make their electronics, package or measurements interchangeable.
The technology page says the prototype has the same size and shape as 2.0. No complete NXT package dimensions, channel map, power table or independently readable fabrication mask are supplied by these sources, so this entry does not invent them.
Testing claim versus experimental dataset
The technology page describes consistently lower noise and months-long spiking stability in implanted prototypes. These are project-reported statements without cohort sizes, numerical noise distributions, unit-tracking criteria or attrition in the fetched source. They are not converted into a quantified application entry. The Quad Base mouse preprint is not used to fill NXT’s missing dataset.
Access and availability
The August 17 announcement, updated August 27, 2026, proposed sharing complete recording systems with nine laboratories free of charge. It anticipated rolling shipments starting October/November2026 and continuing into early 2027. A proposed allocation is not evidence that nine laboratories received systems or that a particular shipment occurred.
The current technology page expects purchase availability in 2027. That is a forecast, not verified current stock or a guarantee. Earlier forecasts for 2024 prototypes/2025 commercial versions are not substituted for this newer source.
Model and clinical boundary
No full model or fabricated channel map is supplied. Prototype recording and expected access do not establish human approval, clinical efficacy, electrical-stimulation safety or a completed assistive system.