Startup Procedures for New Projects
Overview
There are FOUR key steps required to gain access to the RCBI for conducting research using the 3T scanner.
- Contact one of the core staff members (see Initial Contact) to provide a brief summary of your research goals and to receive feedback on the feasibility of your overall research plan.
- If your research plan is judged to be feasible given the facilities and expertise of the RCBI, you must have a source of funding to support your research program. Funds can come from a variety of sources, including NIH and NSF grants, corporate and foundation grants, departmental funds (ledger-2) and pilot funds available through the magnet center, the Center for Visual Science or the Medical School. You must have a billing account before you are able to schedule time on the calendar.
- Provide a formal written request for access to the scanner, including a detailed protocol for data acquisition and analysis, personnel dedicated to the project, and estimated hours of use. This request will be evaluated by the core staff and returned for any necessary modifications.
- Once approved for access, your project must be evaluated by the Research Subjects Review Board to ensure compliance with all guidelines for the proper treatment of subjects. Research cannot begin until official approval and assignment of an RSRB number has been completed.
When all four of these steps have been completed, you will be assigned a login name and password, and you will be able to request ID-card access to the control room for approved personnel. Note that all personnel must successfully complete a MR safety session before they are allowed to enter the control room.
Initial Contact
Prospective users may direct an initial inquiry to any of the four faculty who have appointments in the RCBI. For general issues and administrative questions contact Richard Aslin. For feasibility of functional brain imaging studies contact Daphne Bavelier. For technical questions on MR physics and for DTI studies contact Jianhui Zhong. For MR physics and RF coil design contact Edmund Kwok. Decisions about whether a proposed project is feasible and whether RCBI staff can be allocated to that project will be made only after a formal review of an application for access to the RCBI.
Fee Structure
The NIH-approved rate for use of the magnet is $500/hour. This includes a MR technologist who operates the magnet and archives your data. Additional consultation on data analysis is billed on a fee-for-service basis. Access to workstations for data analysis is provided at any time using a key-card entry system. Alternative rates are available for users who do not require a MR technologist, who are willing to scan during non-peak (M-F 9-5) hours, or who arrange a special contract for long-term access to the magnet.
Written Application Form
The same application form used to request pilot funds is used for any general request for access to the magnet.
[Application form] Updated: March 31 2008
Human Subject Compliance
Approval must be obtained from the Research Subjects Review Board prior to any project on the 3T magnet being approved. For all adult studies, investigators are required to use the template provided below. Investigators should follow the instructions in that template and in the how-to guide. For other types of studies, please contact Dick Aslin or Daphne Bavelier.
Some research subjects have requested images from their brain scans. These can be provided BUT subjects must sign a disclaimer form acknowledging that these images are not adequate for diagnostic use. Please note that this form must be submitted as part of your RSRB application and approved as part of your protocol. The MRI Screening form also needs to be submitted as part of your RSRB and approved as part of your protocol.
[How-To guide for RCBI RSRB applications] Updated: March 31 2008
Templates for Adult Studies:
[Consent form for adult studies] Updated: March 31 2008
[Image release form for adults] Updated: March 31 2008
!!! If you are a HIPAA covered entity, please use this consent form:
[Consent form for adult studies (HIPAA version)] Updated: March 31 2008
Templates for Child Studies
[Assent form for children ages 7-12] Updated: March 31 2008
[Assent form for children ages 13-17] Updated: March 31 2008
[Image release form for children] Updated: March 31 2008
[Consent form for parent/guardian] Updated: March 31 2008
!!! If you are a HIPAA covered entity, please use this consent form:
[Consent form for parent/guardian (HIPAA version)] Updated: March 31 2008
MRI Screening Form
A copy of this screening form must be submitted with your RSRB application:
[MRI screening form] Updated: March 31 2008
MR Safety Training
Proximity to the magnet is strictly controlled because it represents a grave danger to any individual with metal in their body or any type of implanted electronic equipment (e.g. pacemaker or defibrillator). All personnel who have access to the magnet and are granted key-card access to the magnet suite MUST pass a MR safety course. This course takes about 2 hours and is offered by the RCBI staff on an as-needed basis. This should be scheduled with Pat Weber after receiving RSRB approval for your study.
[RCBI safety policies] Updated: July 15 2008
[Explanation of MRI safety issues] Updated: March 31 2008
[RCBI emergency procedures] Updated: March 31 2008
Access to Magnet and Subject Scheduling
Access to the magnet suite is limited only to personnel designated by the RCBI committee on use. Typically, these personnel consist of the PI and or specified assistants who meet the subject at the magnet center and are present during the data collection process. Key-card access to the magnet suite is strictly controlled and no door should ever be propped open to allow non-approved access. Access to the magnet console is limited to the MR technologists or other approved operators. Subject scheduling is handled by a web-based sign up system. Requests for time are entered and every day (by noon) a review of all requests is completed by a designated RCBI staff member who ensures that abuses of the scheduling system (e.g., blocking out large chunks of time) are prevented. Since billing of hours on the magnet is strictly enforced by a login system, any scheduled hours will be billed regardless of whether the user is present. Cancellations must be made in a timely fashion. Cancellations that are not made in a timely fashion or misuse of the cancellation policy will result in billing penalties.
Data Archiving
The MR technologist will place data sets on the RCBI fileservers and provide the user (if requested) with a backup CD. Although backup systems are in place, users are still responsible for backing up their own data from the server or scanner console and will be required to remove old data if their disk allocation has been exceeded. Data that has been on the scanner console or fileserver for extended periods of time may be removed after a reasonable effort to contact the researchers has been unsuccessful