What is the Unicorn tDCS Core-2?

The Unicorn tDCS Core-2 is a fully portable, wireless transcranial direct current stimulator controlled from a smartphone or tablet. It delivers an adjustable current from 0 to 2 mA through one anode and one cathode, for sessions of up to three and a half hours, with no cables tethering the participant to a benchtop unit.

Transcranial direct current stimulation has become a standard tool across neuroscience, psychology and rehabilitation research. A gentle current applied to a targeted cortical region can excite or inhibit that region, which makes tDCS useful for studying cognitive function, mood regulation, motor performance and learning. The Core-2 makes that protocol practical outside a dedicated stimulation lab.

Key Features

• Smartphone controlled: An Android app sets the current and stimulation duration. Press start and the session runs.
• Adjustable 0 to 2 mA: Fine control over stimulation intensity for a wide range of protocols.
• Freely selectable montage: Anode and cathode positions are chosen by inserting g.SAHARA soft electrodes into frontal, central, parietal or occipital locations in the cap.
• Snap-in magnetic stimulator: Attaches to the base station and powers on automatically on contact. Reverse it in the holder to switch it off.
• Washable cap: The stimulator detaches completely so the cap can be cleaned between participants.
• Long session capacity: Three hours 30 minutes of stimulation, ten hours in connection mode.
• Genuinely portable: 45 g, Bluetooth 5, no wall power required during a session.
• EMC tested and CE certified: Built to international normatives and RoHS compliant.

Electrodes and targeting

Stimulation is delivered through g.SAHARA soft electrodes filled with electrode gel. The electrodes drop into defined positions in the cap, so targeting a different cortical region is a matter of moving them rather than reconfiguring the hardware. Frontal, central, parietal and occipital positions are all available, which covers the montages used in most published tDCS protocols.

The Android app

The whole device is operated from a phone or tablet. Select the current, select the stimulation time, press start. There is no separate control box, no display to navigate on the device itself and nothing to calibrate before each run. For studies with many participants or many sessions per participant, that reduction in handling time compounds quickly.

Snap-in design

The stimulation unit attaches to the base station with a magnetic holder. Contact powers the device on; detaching it, turning it around and snapping it back in powers it down and secures it for transport. The cap can then be washed independently of the electronics.

Research areas

• Cognitive enhancement and working memory studies
• Motor learning and motor performance research
• Mood regulation and affective neuroscience
• Neurorehabilitation protocols
• Combined stimulation and EEG study designs
• Sham-controlled and blinded experimental paradigms

Because the device is wireless and smartphone-operated, it also suits study designs that take stimulation out of the laboratory, including home-based and multi-session protocols run under supervision.