A: Nothing is more frustrating than when a participant no-shows or shows up with their brand new face tattoo and can’t be scanned. We are sympathetic, but unfortunately, that time was not available for others to book, and therefore you will still be charged even though you did not get to use that time for scanning. However… If you can find another participant before your scan time, we can use that window for another project in your lab. [You cannot switch this to development time tags, but you can pilot with grant tags].

Exceptions can be made if the participant had some unavoidable problem (oversleeping or forgetting do not count). Contact Dr. John VanMeter for consideration of waiver of the charges.

A: Unfortunately, yes you will be billed for any time you run over. Any time your participant takes up is your time.

A: If no one is booked after you need more time, let the scanning RA know. This is decided on a case-by-case basis. Please remember even if there is no scan after yours our RAs do have other commitments and may not be able to accommodate your request though we will try our best. If another lab’s time is reserved right after yours, then you cannot cut into their window. We do our best to keep the schedule running on time.

A: Development scans are free to the users, but are paid for by CFMI work tags that GUMC finance people monitor and thus there are a limited number of hours available per year. Invoices are sent so that you can ‘ok’ the amount of time that your group used. Groups are only supposed to use a few hours at the start of new projects or to collect pilot data for grant submissions. The latter needs to be pre-approved by first filling out this Pilot Request Form. We keep track of the total number used per year and the total number used per group and reserve the right to cut groups off if they are abusing the ‘free’ scan time.

A: It takes time for scans to transfer onto USBs, compress them, and upload them to Box. Additionally, steps often fail along the way and the process needs to be started over. Please remember that you are not the only group asking this, and it is only fair that scans are uploaded in the order they were collected. As per our general rule, if your data has not been uploaded 48 hours post-scan, you can and should reach out to all the scanning RAs at [email protected].

A: There are calendars on the website for each room at CFMI. The behavioral/mock scanner room costs $332/hr - just kidding, it’s free. Use this calendar for the behavioral/mock scanner room and this one for the EEG/NIRS room.

Please note that if you do not book the room and someone else does then they will have the priority and you will need to leave the room.

A: No, weekly red blocks are for mandatory CFMI meetings. Other red blocks are for maintenance or because an Authorized User (AU) is not available during that time. Not scanning at this time ensures everyone’s safety in and around the giant magnet.

A: No, please email [email protected] about scan and mock scanner room weekend requests - never add anything to that calendar. We need to confirm that an AU, as well as a scanning RA, are available to come in for your scans before we can book the time slot.

A: NO! One of the CFMI RAs or an AU must do the second screen. The first screen should be completed by someone who has been CFMI Safety Trained (sign-up here) and Certified by passing the test. The more thorough the first screen is, the faster the second screen will go.

A: CFMI RAs take notes during every scan. If there are no changes to your normal procedure, then there is just the list of scans in the order they were run. If something funny happens during the scan, we make note of it. We always encourage you to take your own notes, but there is a backup if you need it on the CFMI website. Navigate to the Billing page, and there you will be able to view the scan log from each of your lab’s scan sessions.

Alternatively, to access the scan log, goto to the MRI sessions page. Choose the Subject ID, Project Title, and the date range you would like to search. Click “Query Session” to find your scan session and see the scan log. Note: for flexibility either or both Subject ID and Project Title can be left blank.

A: When you receive an invoice notification, please review and confirm the days/times/hours of your scans as well as the work tags to which they are being charged. If anything is incorrect, respond to the email notification to let us know within 7 days of receiving the invoice notification.

A: You know us as “scanning RAs,” but CFMI is also a lab just like yours. We are constantly working on data organization and analyses from the longitudinal Adolescent Development Study, and have recently begun collecting the fourth wave of data for Shady El Damaty’s dissertation study. We try our best to balance our 2-in-1 job: being scan techs and being RAs for an imaging study.

A: The shame list is the list that we use to hold groups accountable. It’s 50% playful and 50% very serious. You’ll know that you’re on it if the RAs have talked to you about your scanning habit(s) more than once. You’re at the top of the shame list if JVM talks to you. To get off the shame list, change the behavior that was addressed. Let us know if you have questions about scanning norms and we are happy to talk through those with you.

In all seriousness, our goal is to help everybody get the best data for their studies and to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Weekend Scan Requests	[email protected]
General Scanning Questions	[email protected]
Authorized Users	[email protected]
Front Desk Phone	202-687-3592
Console Phone	202-687-0110
Fax Machine (yes it works!)	202-687-7906