Astyk Compact MRI Joystick

Description

Astyk is a compact, 2-axis joystick with a high quality return-to-zero mechanism, with no buttons. It is non-magnetic, non-electronic, and entirely made out of plastic, so will not add noise to the images or raise safety concerns in the MR/MEG room or similarly demanding environments. There is a less expensive, non-MR trainer available for this response pad for use outside the magnet room.

Ballistic and fine finger movements can be recorded accurately with low force requirements and high responsiveness. The short shaft can be controlled well with a fingertip or thumb alone with very little or no movement of the wrist and arm. We developed this in response to customer requests for an smaller, lighter alternative to the Tethyx joystick for motor neurophysiology tasks. It is compact enough to be held in one hand for thumb use, rested on the leg, or positioned next to the leg.

When choosing between Tethyx and the Astyk, the former is often the better choice for VR navigation tasks, especially those requiring thumb or finger button activations.

Specifications

• Handheld for the FIU-905, FIU-932 and Birch interfaces
• 2.6" (66 mm) outer diameter base
• 0.27" (6.9 mm) shaft diameter
• 2.1" (53 mm) overall height
• +/- 20 degree motion in two axes
• Available with circular, square, or linear range limits
• 10 ft (3 m) long fiber pigtailed connector
• Active light levels for handheld identification and gain adjustment

What Else Is Needed

This handheld response device needs an electronic interface to convert the optical signals to standard computer interfacing signals. In most cases you will also need a long optical fiber extension bundle (BE-XX) to allow this device to be used at a distance from the interface unit. The required interface and compatible bundles are shown below in the Related Products section.

 

This item contains no metal, nothing electronic, and nothing magnetic. It can be used safely in the magnet room.