This repository contains up-to-date reference versions of the voltage clamp model used in Lei et al. 2020, 2025, and other publications. These models can be used to simulate manual or planar patch-clamp experiments in voltage-clamp mode.
Note: This URL used to host the data for the 2020 Lei et al. publication, which has been moved to https://github.com/CardiacModelling/VoltageClampModel2020
We recently updated the voltage clamp model with improved filtering of input (stimulus filter) and output (Bessel filters), and an improved time-delay in the series resistance compensation pathway.
In addition to this full-featured model, we now also provide a series of increasingly simplified models:
- The "Level 0" model includes all features.
- The "Level 1" model simplifies this, by replacing all filters with first-order approximations.
- "Level 2" further assumes an ideal measuring op-amp without stray capacitance.
- "Level 3" removes fast capacitance currents and their correction.
- "Level 4" removes all filtering entirely.
- "Level 5" assumes perfect slow capacitance cancellation (but imperfect series resistance compensation).
All models are provided in Myokit (models-mmt) and CellML (models-cellml) formats.
Levels 0, 1, and 2 can recreate the fast artefacts seen in patch clamp experiments, and are very useful to understand the patch clamp process.
To fit experimental data, these fast artefacts are less important, and so level 3 is good to match data from the fastest currents. For slower currents, levels 4 or 5 can be used.
To understand these models, we provide four tutorial notebooks.
The first derives a basic model of a patch clamp amplifier, and the second adds compensation and filtering, leading to the "Level 0" model. In the third notebook, this model is used to simulate the early stages of a (manual) patch-clamp experiment.
The final notebook derives the simplifications, and shows how they relate to our previous work (Lei et al., 2020 and 2025).
The first published version was in
Accounting for variability in ion current recordings using a mathematical model of artefacts in voltage-clamp experiments. Lei, C.L., Clerx, M., Whittaker, D.G., Gavaghan D.J., de Boer, T.P. and Mirams, G.R. (2020). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 378: 20190348. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0348
BibTeX entry:
@article{Lei2020Variability,
author = {Lei, Chon Lok and Clerx, Michael and Whittaker, Dominic G. and Gavaghan, David J. and de Boer, Teun P. and Mirams, Gary R. },
title = {Accounting for variability in ion current recordings using a mathematical model of artefacts in voltage-clamp experiments},
journal = {Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences},
volume = {378},
number = {2173},
pages = {20190348},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1098/rsta.2019.0348}
}
Code: https://github.com/CardiacModelling/nav-artefact-model
The "supercharging" or "prediction" pathway was added in
Resolving Artifacts in Voltage-Clamp Experiments with Computational Modeling: An Application to Fast Sodium Current Recordings. Lei, C.L., Clark, A.P., Clerx, M., Wei, S., Bloothooft, M., de Boer, T.P., Christini, D.J., Krogh-Madsen, T., and Mirams, G.R. (2025). Advanced Science, 12, 30: e00691. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202500691
BibTeX entry:
@article{Lei2025Artifacts,
author = {Lei, Chon Lok and Clark, Alexander P. and Clerx, Michael and Wei, Siyu and Bloothooft, Meye and de Boer, Teun P. and Christini, David J. and Krogh-Madsen, Trine and Mirams, Gary R.},
title = {Resolving Artifacts in Voltage-Clamp Experiments with Computational Modeling: An Application to Fast Sodium Current Recordings},
journal = {Advanced Science},
volume = {12},
number = {30},
pages = {e00691},
year = {2025},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202500691}
}
Code: https://github.com/CardiacModelling/VoltageClampModel2020
If you publish any work based on the contents of this repository please cite the papers listed above, or use the information in our CITATION.cff.