Announcements 2011
December 22, 2011 - Winter 2012 Related Courses
BIOENG 278 / RAD 278 - Winter 2012
Course title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Lab
Instructor: Eric Wong, Ph.D. M.D., ecwong@ucsd.edu
Course Time/Location:
Lectures M 1-2 at the CFMRI Conference Room
Labs WF 2-4 at the CFMRI 3TWest scanner
Previous year's Website: http://fmri.ucsd.edu/ecwong/BE278W11.html
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of linear systems and consent of instructor.
Brief Description:
This lab course provides hand-on experience with MR physics, data acquisition, image formation, and data analysis, using a human MRI scanner. It will focus on the basic principles of MRI, including scanner hardware, spin echoes, gradient echoes, frequency encoding, phase encoding, and RF pulses. This will be accomplished through 1 hour of formal instruction and 4 hours of scanner time per week. The last 3-4 weeks will be devoted to student projects, and grading will be based on lab reports. NOTE: BENG 280A is listed as a prerequisite for this course, however, because BENG 280A was not offered this fall, the prerequisite is waived for this year, and this course will be more introductory in nature, focusing more on basic concepts than advanced topics.
SOMI-276 C - Winter 2012
Course title: Advanced Topics in fMRI
Organizing Instructor: Rick Buxton, rbuxton@ucsd.edu
Lecturers: Greg Brown, Rick Buxton, Anna Devor, Frank Haist, Eric Halgren, Tom Liu, Becky Theilmann
Course Time/Location:
Tues/Thurs 2-3:30, fMRI Conference Room, starting Jan. 10
Website: http://learnfmri.ucsd.edu
Prerequisites: A basic understanding of fMRI, equivalent to SOMI-276A
Brief Description:
This course combines lectures and discussion of current papers describing the latest developments in fMRI. This year's topics include: quantitative fMRI (Buxton), mapping networks with resting state correlations (Haist and Liu), combining MR spectroscopy with fMRI (Theilmann), basics of EEG and MEG signals and their combination with fMRI in a multi-modal approach (Halgren), applications of fMRI to test computational neurocognitive models (Brown), and the coupling of blood flow and neural activity (Devor). Presentation of papers is by students taking the course for credit, but other fMRI investigators are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussions.
December 5, 2011 - CFMRI Holiday Schedule
To serve the needs of the research community the Center for Functional MRI will remain open during the official UCSD winter holiday closure between Saturday, December 24, 2011 and Monday, January 2, 2012. During this period the CFMRI building will be accessible only by proximity card and a minimal number of staff will be available. Operators planning to scan during the holiday closure should make prior arrangements for building access and staff support as needed.
In case of emergency, please follow the emergency procedures posted on the wall of each control room. All other non-emergency problems should be reported through the online problem report system. While on-campus parking in non-reserved spaces is free during the holiday closure, please note that the CFMRI reserved parking spaces will still require a CFMRI parking permit. There are supplies of the parking permits at the front office window and in each control room.
November 29, 2011 - 3T East Scanner Open on Dec 5th, 2011
We are pleased to announce that the new 3T East Scanner will be open for scanning starting on Monday, Dec 5th 2011. The performance of the new scanner has consistently exceeded the performance of the old scanner during QA tests in the last month. The stability of the new 3T East Scanner for fMRI studies is on a par with the stability of the 3T West Scanner based on the stability measures set forth by the fBIRN consortium.
If you plan to start using the 3T East Scanner, please make sure to read the training and protocol information below. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
1. Training required for scanning on 3T East
Previous 3T East Operators: a two-hour training session is required unless you are already a certified operator with current status on the 3T West scanner (see below).
Current 3T West Operators: no training is required if your status is current. Refresher training is required if your operator status has lapsed.
New Operators: a minimum of four hours hands-on training is required.
To schedule operator training, the PI of the project needs to fill out the online Operator Training Request Form which is available on our website https://fmri.ucsd.edu/operator-training. CFMRI will only accept training requests from PIs who have approved projects on 3T East.
2. Protocols
Due to significant changes in the software from the old scanner to the new scanner, all protocols will have to be built from scratch. Please review this documentation http://fmri.ucsd.edu/download/updateprotocolMR750_3Teast.pdf
carefully for instructions on updating protocols. Staff assistance is available during hands-on training sessions or by contacting CFMRI directly.Thank you all for your patience during the 3T East Scanner upgrade.
Please feel free to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu if you have any questions.
November 22, 2011 - CFMRI building locked during Thanksgiving
Please note that the CFMRI building will be locked for Thanksgiving Holiday during the following dates: November 24th - November 27th
If you plan on scanning at the Center during these dates, entry to the CFMRI building will be via Access Card only. Certified Operators with access cards should make arrangements to meet their research subjects and Research Assistants at the CFMRI building to gain access.If you would like to apply for an Access Card please complete the application https://fmri.ucsd.edu/cfmriaccess/. If you have any questions please contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
November 2, 2011 - Proximity card readers being installed on 3T doors tomorrow
Proximity card readers will be installed on the 3T East and 3T West control room doors this Thursday and Friday (Nov 3-4, 2011). The existing lab codes for the old Omnilock system will no longer work. Starting from tomorrow (Thursday, Nov 3rd), a UCSD School of Medicine issued proximity card will be required to access the MRI rooms at all times. Please make sure to bring your proximity card and CFMRI lanyards when you come to scan at the Center.
If you have any questions regarding eligibility for CFMRI access and the procedures for applying for and activating a proximity card, please feel free to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
November 2, 2011 - 3T East upgrade close to finish
The installation phase of the new 3T East scanner is now complete. Currently we are conducting comprehensive performance evaluations and are working closely with GE to assure the quality and performance of the scanner. The preliminary results from the evaluations look good and we hope to make the 3T East scanner available for scheduling at the end of November. Please stay tuned for more updates.
October 7, 2011 - New 3T Scan Rates
As reported in our April 26, 2011 E-Update, the increase in 3T scan rates became effective September 1, 2011. The new rates are included in the Appendix of our updated Policies and Procedures for Using the 3T Scanners http://fmri.ucsd.edu/pdf/3Tpolicies_rev_11Oct05.pdf. Please read the new Policies and Procedures and ensure that all users in your group are familiar with them. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
September 13, 2011 - Updates on 3T East Upgrade
The 3T East scanner upgrade has begun. In the next couple of weeks you will see a variety of construction-related activities in and around the 3T East area. We urge everyone to use caution while working at CFMRI during the construction period and to stay away from the construction zone.
The new magnet is scheduled to arrive early morning on September 17th (Saturday). The CFMRI building will be evacuated briefly on two separate occasions for magnet rigging during 6:00am -10:00am on Saturday. The evacuation is expected to last no more than a few minutes each. Please be advised that you may need to adjust your plans at CFMRI accordingly for that morning as interruptions may occur. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience due to the magnet rigging.
3T West operation is expected to be very busy for the next month or two and we appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this time. Please do not hesitate to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu should you have any questions or concerns about scanning at CFMRI during the 3T East scanner upgrade.
September 2, 2011 - 3T East Upgrade next Wednesday
The 3T East scanner will be ramped down for upgrade next Wednesday, September 7th. Please be sure to back up the protocols you want to keep before Wednesday. The 3T East protocols cannot be readily transferred to 3T West, nor to the upgraded 3T East, due to software incompatibility. All protocols will have to be recreated by hand.
We will provide training hours to help recreate protocols during this transition period of the 3T East upgrade. If you need assistance with protocols, please feel free to sign up for an operator training session through our website.
We look forward to a smooth upgrade of the 3T East scanner, and appreciate your understanding and cooperation during the process.
August 15, 2011 - New Access Control System in August 2011
The installation of the new School of Medicine (SOM) access control system is underway at CFMRI. The conversion to the new system is expected to be completed in late August 2011. Under the new system, CFMRI certified operators must obtain a proximity card issued by the SOM in order to access the scanner rooms and have after-hours access to the building.
We have already sent out email instructions to all UCSD operators who are enrolled in our existing access control system on how to apply for a new proximity card. If you are only recently enrolled in our system and have not received the instructions, you will receive them soon. For non-UCSD operators (VA, SDSU, Salk, Scripps, etc), you are not eligible for a SOM card, but we will issue you with a CFMRI Guest card. You will receive instructions from us on how to apply when the CFMRI Guest cards are available in the next few weeks.
Current UCSD operators can apply for one proximity card at no cost before the conversion date. After the conversion date, UCSD operators will be required to pay $35 to UC Regents to apply for the card, unless you already have a compatible proximity card issued by UCSD, such as the UCSD Health Care ID card. All non-UCSD operators (current and new) will be required to pay a $35 deposit to CFMRI for a CFMRI Guest card. The deposit will be refunded upon return of the undamaged card. More details will be available on our website soon.
We would like to make sure that everyone enrolled in our existing access system receive the new proximity cards before the conversion, and we appreciate your patience and cooperation during the transition period.
If you have any questions regarding the new access control system and access to CFMRI, please feel free to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
August 15, 2011 - 3T East Scanner Available Through September 7th 2011
The 3T East scanner will be available for scanning through Tuesday, September 6th 2011 (the day after Labor Day). The magnet is scheduled to be ramped down on the morning of September 7th, and the new magnet will arrive on Saturday, September 17th. We anticipate that the upgrade process will take approximately two months from the date of delivery.
If you are currently scanning on 3T East, and would like to move the remaining scans to 3T West, please contact Eman (eghobrial@ucsd.edu) to set up accounts on 3T West. At this time, we also recommend that users on 3T East start backing up protocols, either by exporting protocols to pdf files, or by writing down important protocol parameters. This step is necessary in order to re-create the protocols on 3T East after the upgrade. For assistance on backing up protocols please contact Kun Lu (kunlu@ucsd.edu).
August 8, 2011 - New CFMRI Reserved Parking Space 135D
We are pleased to let you know that we have secured an additional reserved parking space (135D) on Osler Lane, right beside our current reserved spaces, 133D and 134D. The new space has been entered on the Webschedule and is now available for booking. We are hopeful that three reserved parking spaces will fulfill parking needs for research subjects coming to the Center. We will continue to maintain an “A” permit for use in the unlikely event that all reserved spaces are booked and there is still a need for parking.
The CFMRI Parking Policy and the Participant Parking Information form have been updated to include the new reserved parking space - please ensure that your research subjects have the most recent form. http://fmri.ucsd.edu/pdf/CFMRIParkingPolicy0711.pdf Please remember that reserved spaces and “A” permits are for use by research subjects only. Operators may not use these spaces.
We are aware that parking at UCSD can be challenging and we really appreciate your help in adhering to the Parking Policy so that all users are treated fairly. Please read the Parking Policy and ensure that all users in your group are familiar with it. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Mary O'Malley at (858)-822-0513 or momalley@ucsd.edu.
July 20, 2011 - New Projectors in 3T East and West for August 1st
We are planning to replace the lower projectors in both the 3T West and 3T East control rooms with a newer and improved model on Monday, August 1st 2011. The new projectors have a 50% longer lamp life cycle than the old projectors and support wide screen 1280x800 (HD) resolution. If your study requires use of the lower projectors, it is strongly recommended that you verify the compatibility of your laptop and existing stimulus software with the new projector before August 1st. Please contact Peter (pywong@ucsd.edu) if you would like to arrange a time to test the new projectors.
June 23, 2011 - CFMRI Access Control System Upgrade
We will be upgrading the CFMRI access control system to the LENEL wireless entry system which is being installed throughout the School of Medicine (SOM) at UCSD. Under the new system, anyone who wishes to have access to the scanner rooms and after hour access to the building must obtain a proximity card issued by SOM. According to our policy, only CFMRI certified operators are granted access to the scanner rooms and to the building after hours.
If you are currently a certified operator affiliated with UCSD, you will be issued a proximity card by SOM. We will send email instructions to you in the next few days on when and where to apply for the card.
Our non-UCSD operators (VA, SDSU, Salk, Scripps, etc) will receive guest cards from CFMRI. We will contact the non-UCSD operators at a later date when the guest cards are available.
We would like to make sure that all our current operators receive new proximity cards before the new entry system is in operation, and will appreciate everyone's cooperation during this transition. If you have any questions regarding the new entry system and access to CFMRI, please feel free to contact us.
June 13, 2011 - Updates on 3T East Scanner Upgrade
The 3T East scanner will be available for scanning through Tuesday, September 6th 2011 (the day after Labor day). The magnet is scheduled to be ramped down on the morning of September 7th, and the new magnet will arrive on Saturday September 17th. We anticipate that the upgrade process will take approximately two months from the date of delivery.
If you are currently scanning on 3T East, and would like to move the remaining scans to 3T West, please contact Eman (eghobrial@ucsd.edu) to set up accounts on 3T West. At this time, we also recommend that users on 3T East start backing up protocols, either by exporting protocols to pdf files, or by writing down important protocol parameters. This step is necessary in order to re-create the protocols on 3T East after the upgrade. For assistance on backing up protocols please contact Kun Lu (kunlu@ucsd.edu).
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the upcoming 3T East upgrade.
April 26, 2011 - Upgrade of 3T East Scanner
We anticipate that the upgrade of the 3T East system will start in early September of this year. The 3T East scanner is expected to be available through the first week of September, at which time the magnet will be ramped down to prepare for the upgrade. We are currently working closely with GE and University facility management on a detailed schedule, and will send out updates as soon as the schedule is available. The exact dates of the upgrade will be posted at least 30 days before the magnet ramp down, and we will try our best to accommodate the needs of the ongoing projects on 3T East. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the upgrade schedule.
April 26, 2011 - Proposed Increase in 3T Recharge Rates
For the past 4 years, the CFMRI has maintained our 3T scanner recharge rate at the same level while making major upgrades to the equipment. However, our financial projections indicate that this rate is no longer sustainable in the face of rising expenses and other factors that are beyond the CFMRI's control. After a careful budgetary review and with the approval of the CFMRI Steering Committee, we will be proposing a modest 5% annual increase in scanner recharge rates. The proposed increase is pending final approval by the UCSD Recharge Committee. When approved, the initial increase is scheduled to go into effect on September 1, 2011 with subsequent increases to occur at the beginning of each fiscal year (e.g. July 1, 2012). In order to minimize the effect on ongoing projects and to facilitate the planning of future projects, we have opted for a smaller annual increase instead of a larger one-time increase (as was implemented in 2007). If you have any questions about the proposed rate increase, please do not hesitate to contact us.
March 10, 2011 - CFMRI Operator Policy Update
We recently updated our Magnet Room, Operator and PI Related Policies (http://fmri.ucsd.edu/pdf/CFMRIMagnetOperatorPolicies0311.pdf). We would like to remind users that the Operator is responsible for ensuring that all subjects are escorted out of the CFMRI building upon completion of the scanning session.
Please read the new Policies and ensure that all users in your group are familiar with them. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (858) 822 0513 or cfmri@ucsd.edu
February 16, 2011 - New 7T Scanner
The new Bruker 7 Tesla small animal imaging magnet is scheduled to be delivered on April 12, 2011 (and possibly a few days earlier). There will be 2 to 3 weeks required for energizing and testing of the magnet, and we expect the magnet to be available for research projects in early May. Updates regarding the 7T imaging program will be provided through the 7T users list.
If you wish to subscribe to this list, please visit the following link:
February 10, 2011 - MRI Safety Tips
In the past few months we have had several incidents of small metal objects, such as hairpins and paper clips, being found in the bore of the magnet on both 3T West and 3T East. These objects may cause imaging artifacts, but more importantly are potential safety hazards. We would like to remind all operators at CFMRI of the responsibility for the safety of personnel and equipment during a scan session. The pre-screening procedure including the pre-screening form, the operator check list and use of a metal detector must be performed on all research participants. Everyone else entering the magnet room must be screened thoroughly for metal and have permission from the designated operator to enter the room. If metal objects are found in the magnet bore, please immediately report to CFMRI via the online problem report page. In the case of a life threatening emergency, please follow the emergency procedure posted in the control room. Below are a few tips to help you stay on top of safety at all times when scanning at CFMRI.
Helpful Tips for reducing safety hazards in MRI:
1. Use plastic office supplies, such as paper clips (available in each Console Room) and pens. These items are available in all major office supply stores and through UCSD Marketplace.
2. Avoid scanning alone. Have extra hands available in case help is needed.
3. Treat all questions seriously on the Screening Forms. Make sure research participants understand and answer all the questions.
4. Screen everyone entering the magnet room. Always use the metal detector and visual inspection to look for small or hidden metal objects that can be easily missed (e.g., hair pins).
5. Do not hesitate to approach CFMRI staff and faculty members if you have questions and need help.
6. Review the CFMRI safety manual and policies periodically. They are available on our website at http://fmri.ucsd.edu/safety.htmlWe appreciate everyone's effort in making safety a top priority at CFMRI.
January 15, 2011 - Winter 2011 Related Courses
BIOENG 278 / RAD 278 - Winter 2011
Course title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Lab
Instructor: Eric Wong, Ph.D. M.D., ecwong@ucsd.edu
Course Time/Location:
Lectures M 10-11
Labs W 2-4 and F 3-5; Center for functional MRI
Website: http://fmri.ucsd.edu/ecwong/BE278W11.html
Prerequisites:
BENG 280A or basic knowledge of linear systems and MRI and consent of instructor.
Brief Description:
This lab course provides hand-on experience with MR physics, data acquisition, image formation, and data analysis, using a human MRI scanner. It will review basic principles of MRI and key applications, including scanner hardware, spin echoes, gradient echoes, echo-planar imaging, MR angiography, fMRI, and perfusion imaging. This will be accomplished through 1 hour of formal instruction and 4 hours of scanner time per week. Each week will cover one topic, and grading will be based on lab reports.
Advanced Topics in fMRI (SOMI-276C): This course will not be offered this year, but will return in Winter 2012.
fMRI Design and Analysis (SOMI-276B) is still planned for the Spring 2011 Quarter.