Name: Research Edition Digital Upgrade
Brand: Vagal
Price: 299.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Research Edition

Turn Your Buddy Into a Research Instrument

Research Edition is a firmware upgrade that unlocks full parameter control, professional tooling, and three major new capabilities. Same hardware. Entirely new level of control.

4 Waveform Modes New Chrome Control Surface New AI Device Control New

What Research Edition Unlocks

Everything you need to turn your Buddy into a fully programmable research instrument.

New

Four Waveform Modes

Symmetric, alternating, asymmetric and monophasic pulse shapes. Match your stimulation to the protocol rather than being limited to a single waveform.

New

Chrome Control Surface

Full-featured control panel running in your browser. Connect via Web Bluetooth, see live waveforms, drag faders, manage sessions. No app install required.

New

MCP Device Control

Connect Claude to your stimulator via the Model Context Protocol. Set parameters, start sessions and monitor HRV through natural conversation with AI.

Exact mA Control

Set stimulation to precise microamp values. No more guessing with intensity levels.

Full Parameter Access

Frequency, pulse width, interphase, duty cycle, anti-habituation. Every parameter exposed.

BLE Connectivity

Wireless Bluetooth Low Energy connection. Control your device from across the room.

Session Reports

Post-session HRV analysis with timeline charts, phase comparisons and stimulation correlation.

Sham Mode

Configurable sham stimulation for blinded research. Set ramp, min current and max duration. Blind mode hides the settings on screen.

API Access

Programmatic device control for automated study protocols and custom integrations.

Every Setting, Right on the Device

Research Edition puts the full protocol on Buddy's own screen. Set up and run a session with the joystick alone, no phone or laptop needed.

Animation of the Vagal Buddy Research Edition: the joystick opens the settings screen, changes the waveform from symmetric to alternating, raises the current from 1000 to 1200 uA, then steps through frequency, phase, interphase and duty cycle

Set up with the joystick

Move up and down through waveform, duration, current, frequency, phase, interphase and duty cycle, and adjust each with left and right. Press again to start.

Vagal Buddy Research Edition during a session: current gauge, waveform and duty-cycle indicator, 12:30 of 20 minutes remaining with progress bar, measured over target current 1000/1000 uA, 25 Hz, 250/50 us, 5/5 s duty

Live while it runs

Measured and target current, waveform, duty cycle and time remaining stay on screen for the whole session.

Vagal Buddy Research Edition in blind mode: only the session timer and participant code 17 are shown, with current, waveform and settings hidden

Built for blinded studies

In blind mode the screen hides the current, waveform and settings, and shows only the timer and the participant code.

Four Waveform Modes

Match pulse shape to protocol. Symmetric for standard studies, or unlock alternating, asymmetric and monophasic waveforms for advanced research designs.

Included

Symmetric

Biphasic balanced

Equal positive and negative phases. The standard for most tVNS research protocols. Charge-balanced by design.

Close-up of the Vagal Buddy display showing the symmetric biphasic waveform symbol inside the current gauge

Shown on Buddy's screen as SYM

New

Alternating

Polarity-alternating biphasic

Flips leading polarity each cycle. Reduces electrode polarisation and may improve nerve fibre recruitment patterns.

Close-up of the Vagal Buddy display showing the alternating waveform symbol, polarity flipping each pulse, inside the current gauge

Shown on Buddy's screen as ALT

New

Asymmetric

Charge-balanced asymmetric

Short high-amplitude cathodic phase with a longer, lower anodic return. Targets specific fibre types while maintaining charge balance.

Close-up of the Vagal Buddy display showing the asymmetric waveform symbol, a tall short phase and a shallow longer return, inside the current gauge

Shown on Buddy's screen as ASYM

New

Monophasic

Uniphasic cathodic

Single-phase pulse with no return. Maximum directional selectivity for protocols that require unbalanced stimulation.

Close-up of the Vagal Buddy display showing the monophasic waveform symbol, single-phase pulses with no return, inside the current gauge

Shown on Buddy's screen as MONO

Web Bluetooth

Full Control from Chrome

No app required. Open the tVNS Control Surface in Chrome and connect directly to your Buddy via Bluetooth. Every parameter at your fingertips.

Live target vs. actual gauge

See your target current and what the device is actually delivering in real time on a dual-arc gauge.

Live waveform display

Canvas-rendered oscilloscope shows your exact pulse shape, timing and interphase in real time.

Session timeline with duty cycling

Visual timeline shows on/off periods, elapsed time and session progress at a glance.

Requires Chrome, Edge or Bluefy (iOS) with Web Bluetooth support

VagaltVNS Control Surface

BLE

MCP

Target

mA

800

Target

Max V 30 V

Total 247s

Pulse Shape

04:07

Control Your Device with AI

Talk to Claude. It talks to your stimulator. Set parameters, start sessions, and adjust protocols through natural conversation using the Model Context Protocol.

MCP Connected

You & Claude

Set the frequency to 25 Hz and start a 20-minute session at 1mA

Setting your parameters now.

set_frequency(25)
set_target_current(1000)
set_session_duration(1200)
start_session()

Done. 25 Hz at 1.0 mA, session running. I can see your HRV responding already.

MCP

Buddy Stimulator

Frequency25 HzSet

Target Current1000 uASet

Session Duration20:00Set

StatusRunningLive

WaveformSymmetric

Phase250 us

Works with Claude Desktop Claude.ai Any MCP Client

Who This Is For

Research Edition transforms your consumer Buddy stimulator into a programmable research instrument with full parameter access and professional tooling.

Academic researchers running tVNS studies

Clinicians prescribing specific stimulation protocols

Practitioners who need exact milliamp control

Developers integrating tVNS into research platforms

Power users who want full control of every parameter