Announcements 2017
October 27, 2017
Due to unexpected shipment delays from GE, we will be completing a partial upgrade of the 3TW scanner on the week of November 6th.
The partial upgrade will incorporate the latest RF technology that will improve data quality. The software (DV26) and reconstruction engine upgrade will be rescheduled in the near future.
The updated closure of 3TW will take place beginning Monday, November 6th and ending Thursday, November 9th (noon). At noon on Thursday, 3TW will be re-opened for general usage. Please feel free to book these slots in CALPENDO!
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
September 8, 2017
We are planning to upgrade the software on 3T West to the latest version supplied by GE (DV26). We expect this upgrade to improve system performance and support next generation imaging protocols and hardware. DV26 will add advanced multiband reconstruction capabilities to 3T West.
The proposed upgrade schedule and closure of 3T West is currently set for Monday, November 6th through Sunday, November 12th. In the coming weeks, we will send further instructions on how users can prepare for the upgrade.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming DV26 software upgrade, please do not hesitate to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to make the most current equipment and resources available to the research community.
July 17, 2017
Since the closure of parking lot 604, there has been a significant increase in illegal parking in our reserved spaces. As a result, it is necessary to modify and strictly enforce our parking policy.
- Parking spaces and A permits may only be booked on Calpendo in conjunction with a 3T or mock scan booking.
- We now have two A permits available for booking on Calpendo.
- In order to ensure it is returned after being used, an A permit requires a deposit (e.g., driver’s license) from the Operator/Research Coordinator.
- All cars parked illegally will be photographed and kept on record here at the Center.
- Illegally parked cars will receive one warning on their windshield.
- Repeat offenders are subject to citation and/or towing at the owner’s expense.
- Cars with CFMRI Permits, but no reservation in Calpendo, are considered illegally parked and subject to citation and/or towing at the owner’s expense.
- If there is a car parked in your subject’s parking spot, please see Juliana in room 1002 as soon as you are aware of the issue. Please do not have your subject park in a different reserved space without speaking with Juliana.
- Parking is for human subjects only. This is UCSD policy.
As a reminder, valet parking is available in the newly opened lot on Osler Lane. It is $5/day with an “A” permit, and $20/day without.
When the fall term begins, we expect parking to become even more difficult for staff. It is imperative that you plan extra time to ensure you can park and be at the Center prior to your human subject’s arrival.
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation to ensure that the reserved parking spaces are available for the human subjects who need them.
May 10, 2017
The post upgrade interface on the 3T East console includes a few minor changes that you should be aware of.
- When you initially run your protocol, you will need to set the anatomical region of interest before the system will allow the localizer to run. To set this parameter you will need to select the “Anatomical Region…” button on the bottom left corner of the graphical user interface (see image below). For most protocols, you will select Head -> Brain in the dialog box that appears after selecting the “Anatomical Region…” button. Your preferences can be saved into your protocol to ensure that you are only required to enter the anatomical information during the initial acquisition.
- As part of the upgrade, GE installed state-of-the-art RF hardware. On the user interface, an updated parameter field exists labeled “RF Drive Mode”. Please ensure that RF Drive Mode is set to “Quadrature” to prevent protocol inconsistencies across software versions (see image below). Quadrature is the default RF Drive Mode setting in the overwhelming majority of user protocols, post upgrade.
May 01, 2017
The 3TE scanner upgrade has been completed successfully. In addition to the software upgrade, the scanner is now equipped with the latest RF technology from GE that will improve data quality for the body and muscular skeletal imaging.
If you have questions or issues with your existing 3TE protocols, please contact David Shin or Aaron Jacobson.
We are also making the new data transfer script available (already running on the 3TW scanner) that replaces gecopy, physiocopy, pcopy.pl, making it easier for operators to transfer scan data. Just open a terminal and type 'cfmricp'. It will show a list of scan sessions for the last 48 hours (labeled with a unique number). Operators can enter the session number and the script will automatically grab relevant files (e.g. P-files, DICOMs, physio files) and transfer them to the user defined cfmri account/server. Note that operators can continue to use the original data transfer scripts if desired.
March 28, 2017
On February 1st, we sent you an email in regards to our system upgrade plan for the 3TE scanner by the end of the first quarter of this year.
We have scheduled the upgrade during the week of 04/24 to 04/28.
If you are a 3TE user, please read the following to prepare for the upgrade:
Backup your current 3T East protocols on a USB drive.
If you have multiple protocols that were saved in the past but may no longer be used, please identify these protocols (backup to your USB drive if needed) and remove them from the protocol list.
If your protocol uses non-stock GE sequences that are not developed by CFMRI, please notify us soon so we can coordinate with you to obtain the updated sequences. Below is a list of projects that are most likely to need to contact us:
If you have any questions or concerns about the upgrade, please do not hesitate to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.
February 01, 2017
We are planning to upgrade software on 3T East to the latest version supplied by GE (DV25). We expect this upgrade to improve system performance and support next generation imaging protocols and hardware. DV25 will add multiband capabilities to 3T East.
The upgrade date is to be determined but we expect to complete the upgrade by the end of the first quarter of this year. In the coming weeks, we will send further instructions on how users can prepare for the upgrade.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming DV25 software upgrades, please do not hesitate to contact us at cfmri@ucsd.edu.