Policies and Procedures
1. Contacting us and trouble-shooting problems
The Head Technologist (Mark Vignone) will coordinate all requests for assistance. He can be reached via email (vignone@pitt.edu) or phone (412-383-8008). Depending upon your needs (new user account set up, question about safety or an incidental finding, advice on pulse sequences, data transfer and storage from NIC), he will either resolve the problem himself or direct you to the appropriate person.
2. New Account Set-Up
If you are new to NIC, you should begin by contacting the Head Technologist (Mark Vignone), who will provide you with initial advice and direct you to the appropriate individuals for support. To obtain a User account at NIC, the items listed below will be required. Please send these items electronically to NIC’s Administrative Coordinator (Tomika Cohen, tdc52@pitt.edu). Once these documents have been reviewed and approved, you will receive a welcome letter from the Administrative Coordinator stating your account number and other start-up information.
- IRB (or IACUC) protocol in Microsoft Word format. If you do not already have your protocol in Word format, copy and paste the text of the questions and answers from the University of Pittsburgh’s OSIRIS system into a Word document.
- IRB (or IACUC) approval letter
- Completed New Investigator Information form, obtained from NIC’s Administrative Coordinator.
3. Neuroscience Imaging Center administrative team
- Head MRI Research Technologist: Mark Vignone
The Head MRI Technologists is responsible for the day-to-day responsibilities of the MRI scanner and scan simulator. This includes safety issues, safety class, metal screening, quality assurance, scanner maintenance, scheduling, cancellations and scanner billing. If you have any questions please contact Mark at the MRI scan room 412-383-8008, or via email (vignone@pitt.edu).
- Administrative Coordinator: Tomika Cohen
Tomika’s main focus at NIC is ensuring the efficiency of the accounting system. She also spends her time tabulating reports, working on grants and taking care of any other administrative needs. If you have any questions relating to your billing account at NIC please contact her at tdc52@pitt.edu.
- Scheduling: Mark Vignone and Julie Fiez
The NIC website provides an online interface for scheduling time. This online system is completed by an assigned-slot scheduling system that is coordinated every 4 months via email by Julie Fiez. Questions or changes to the assigned slots should be handled through the web interface, or by contacting Mark Vignone. Users are also encouraged to contact each other directly to “swap slots” if a particular scheduling need arises.
- MR physics & data acquisiton support: Mark Vignone & Seong-Gi Kim
The Head Technologist (Mark Vignone) is available to field routine questions about pulse sequences, peripheral equipment, data transfer, and other questions related to the operation of the center. Pulse sequence development and more complex user requests will be handled by Dr. Kim. Daily monitoring of scanner image quality and performance will be handled by Mark Vignone, under the supervision of Dr. Kim.
- Governing Board:
Strick (strickp@pitt)
Seong-Gi Kim (kimsg@pitt.edu)
Julie Fiez (fiez@pitt.edu)The governing board works together to provide a user-oriented and high quality environment for neuroscience imaging research. Users with concerns or suggestions can contact any member of the board.
4. Scheduling Policies
The NIC schedule is created once every four months, with interim adjustments if needed. All users are assigned fixed slots designed to meet the research needs of each lab. Slots are usually 1.5 h or 2 h in duration, but can be adjusted in .5 h increments if necessary. Slots are usually assigned to occur every week, with each lab typically assigned a total of 1-6 h of scanning time each week. Labs with clinical or juvenile participants will be given priority in the assignment of specific days and times. Labs are encouraged to identify staff members willing to run subjects in the evening and weekends.
To maximize resource allocation, each PI will be subject to an upper limit on the number of fixed hours that can be requested each week. A PI is defined as a tenure or non-tenure stream faculty member. The upper limit will be subject to the overall constraints on the NIC schedule, but the center will aim for a cap of 150% of the average number of monthly hours billed in the preceding three months. Users may request consideration to expand beyond this cap in the event that they realistically anticipate an upsurge in their scanning rate. In the event that the total number of requested hours exceeds the time available in the NIC schedule, preference will be given to users with the lowest three-month history of cancellations. The focus will be on cancellations that occur with less than 96 hours’ advance notice, because such cancellations are generally unrecoverable time.
New users who enter during a BIRC schedule period will be fitted into the NIC schedule if room is available. If not, they will have first priority over unscheduled time and cancelled time, and will be incorporated into the schedule once the new four-month cycle begins. New investigators will be allowed to request up to 6 h per week, though a more modest initial use (1-3 h per week) is typical. Once users have established a three-month billing history they will be subject to the constraints outlined above.
NIC recognizes that some labs study volunteer populations that may be hard to fit into the fixed- slot model. Labs are encouraged to cooperate with requests to swap slots, and a contact list will be maintained to facilitate such cooperation. In the event that such informal procedures are not effective, an alternative scheduling mechanism will be identified.
Labs must actively schedule their assigned slots through the web interface at www.birc.pitt.edu. An assigned slot must be reserved two weeks in advance, or else the slot will return to the general pool and can be requested by another lab. As an example, to avoid losing a slot that occurs on the 15th day of the month, the slot must be requested by 9:30 a.m. on the 1st day of the month. Labs may schedule additional time beyond their allocated time, as noted below:
- Additional time can only be requested two weeks in advance. Thus, each day at 9:30 a.m., any slot that remains available in the next 14 days is considered part of the general pool and can be requested by any lab.
- A lab can request no more than three slots from the general pool in any three-day period, except as noted below. Each lab is expected to monitor its own rate of requests.
- A slot that is available four days in advance can be requested by any lab, excluding requests for equipment testing. These requests can be made two days in advance with a maximum scan/test time of two hours.
5. Scheduling Shakedown Scans & Pulse Sequence Testing
One free scan, also known as the “shakedown” scan, is offered to test your new protocol(s) and equipment in the actual scanning situation during normal scan hours. The shakedown scan can be run with your fMRI paradigm. Because the scanning schedule already operates near full capacity, shakedowns must occur at an open time on the schedule.
Often when new studies have begun, labs inquire about scheduling scan time(s) to test or modify their new paradigms. We ask that new users or users with new projects consult with the Head Technologist to set up MR sequences and scanning parameters. Pulse sequences can be tested with a phantom as well as with a subject. To test with a subject, you should provide the consent form from your own IRB protocol. In case the IRB protocol has not been approved yet, NIC may be able to provide the NIC IRB consent, but only for the test scans. Note that these kinds of scans are scheduled accordingly to the Scheduling Policy, particularly the section that deals with shakedown scans and equipment tests.
6. Cancellation Procedures
Users can cancel requested slots through the online scheduling calendar. Users are encouraged to release unwanted time as early as possible, so that other groups may use the time. High cancellation rates will affect the number of slots that a group is allocated on the NIC schedule.
6. Cancellation Procedures
It is the Principal Investigator’s responsibility to take appropriate action if an incidental finding (unexpected brain abnormality) is detected. To facilitate the investigator’s actions, NIC has established the following procedures. If at any time during your scan of your subject there is a suspected abnormality identified by the MR technologist:
- The scan will be completed to avoid causing the subject concern.
- Additional scans may be taken to better evaluate the incidental finding. The MR Technologist will perform the scan without informing the subject or the subject’s parents to avoid causing alarm.
- An email will be sent by the MR Technologist to the PI conducting the study, the RAconducting the scan, and the NIC Medical Director. The Head Technologist will archive all cases.
- NIC’s medical director will review the scan and then reply to all individuals who receivedthe email indicating his conclusion/assessment of the finding. He will make one of the following assessments: a) the incidental finding is non-significant and no action is needed and the case should be closed; b) the incidental finding is non-significant but the subject should be made aware that an incidental finding was made by the PI, and a concluding memorandum detailing the actions that took place to inform the subject and a signed incidental finding form by the PI should be given to Head Technologist in electronic form to close the case, c) the incidental finding is significant and the subject needs to be informed by the PI, who should provide a concluding memorandum to the Head Technologist to close the case, d) the case is a pressing emergency and the MR Technologist should immediately advise the subject to admit themselves to an emergency room as soon as possible to close the case.
- After all cases are closed, the MR Technologist responsible for archiving incidental findings will work with NIC’s Administrative Coordinator (Tomika Cohen) to manage the record keeping so that cases can be pulled for future statistical review. Confidentiality will be maintained at all times throughout these procedures.
9. Fundamental Magnet Safety
The safety of NIC research participants, staff, and investigators is a paramount concern. All research and staff members who will enter the scan room must complete safety training. It is the responsibility of NIC PIs to ensure that their staff meet this requirement, through involvement in a safety training session regularly offered by the Head Technologist. Attention to the following action items for each scan session is a critical element for ensuring safety at a daily level:
- Users should prescreen subjects before brining them to NIC so they do not have to cancel their scan time once they have learned of metallic objects in the subject’s body (e.g. braces, pacemaker.) If there is any uncertainty about the screening (for example, some small permanent retainers are acceptable), contact the MR Technologist before the scan date.
- Individuals will also be screened at NIC by the MR Technologist before they are able to enter the scan room. Users and subjects will not be able to enter the scan room if they are not approved by the MR Technologists.
- NIC forbids any unauthorized entry into the magnet room. NIC will not be responsible for any damage or hurt due to unauthorized entry into the magnet room.
- No objects or equipment may be taken into the scan room without prior approval from NIC’s Head Technologist.
- All users must be aware that the magnet is ALWAYS ON! Never enter the magnet room with any metal. Always double check yourself and your subject before walking through the door.
- The magnet can pull metal from your hands, pockets, folder, etc. Therefore, all metallic objects must be removed prior to entering the scan room (e.g. jewelry, hair clips/pins, computer disks, pens, scissors, syringes, scalpels, knives.)
- In addition, be careful of other magnetic devices that can be erased if taken into the magnet room (e.g. credit cards, ID cards).
- Lockers are available for you and/or your subject to secure belongings.