Testing

Common Questions and Concerns

Certification

I've been safety certified with CCN before. How do I get recertified?

• Safety-certified users need to renew their certification every year. See the Training section on this page for general instructions on recertification. To summarize, you will need to log onto BruinLearn (with your UCLA credentials), enroll in the Staglin safety course if you haven't already, take the MRI Recertification Exam, and email CCN staff once you've passed.
• If you can log into BruinLearn, but don't see the Staglin Safety course and can't find the MR Recertification Exam, you are not yet enrolled in the course. Please talk to your lab manager or admin for an enrollment link and only email CCN staff if they do not have it.

I got the enrollment link from my lab admin, but clicking it gives me a Page Not Found error.

• Make sure you are able to log into bruinlearn.ucla.edu with your UCLA credentials. Do not use Mednet credentials, as BruinLearn requires a @ucla.edu address to enroll.
• Try again in 24-48 hours. UCLA credentials that were granted very recently to new employees/students take some time to propagate through the system.

I passed the MR Safety Exam. Now what?

• Monitor the BruinLearn calendar for Walkthrough and Operations Training sessions. Sign up for a pair of these sessions as soon as you see an available posting that you can attend.
• If you are looking at the calendar and don't see any options for signing up, it means all current postings are full. CCN staff offers these sessions as often as the schedule allows, but demand for safety certification is usually high and the sessions fill up very quickly. Watch the calendar for cancellations and new postings--if you have a strict deadline or have been actively trying to find a spot for a long time, reach out to discuss a special accommodation.

I am BMC certified. Will I need to get re-certified to be allowed in the CCN scanner and/or to access the CCN server?

• Yes. CCN and BMC are separate organizations, so you will need to be safety certified at CCN to access the scanner and server.

Why am I not in the user dropdown list when scheduling a scan?

• The most likely reason is that your safety certification has expired. You can see certification expiration dates in the My Profile > My Personnel page on SIStat. Users also receive an email a few weeks before expiration.
• As with the question above, see the Training section for instructions on (re)certification.

I finished my certification training and passed the exams. Now what?

• Once you have passed the Operations Exam, you are able to start serving as a safety second for scans. There are no further exams to take or physical certificates to get. You will simply need to be recertified after a year has passed (see "How do I get recertified?" above).
• Your lab admin will need to add you to your lab's personnel list on SIStat. See the Lab Personnel section on this page for instructions. This will allow us to mark your certified status in the system, your lab to schedule you for scans, and you to book scans yourself.
• After you have gained some experience as a safety second, you will be able to become a Primary or Responsible User. See the section about primary users on this page for qualification criteria. CCN does not stipulate a specific number of required experience hours, as everyone's MR background is different, but will assess each individual's experience level as necessary.
• Contact CCN staff for access to the CCN mailing lists and Slack workspace. These are the primary communication channels for CCN information and announcements.

Scheduling, Screening, and Administration

Is my participant's implant safe?

• The simple truth is, we don't know yet! Please refrain from emailing CCN personnel without acquiring documentation, records, or official communications from a medical professional.

I have received information, now what?

• If you receive manufacturer information (make/model number etc.) about your participant's implant, please go one step further by searching the web for implant safety information. Oftentimes there will be documentation published by the manufacturer or the FDA.
• If you are unable to get specifics about the manufacturer/model of your participant's implant, please forward as much information as is available to CCN Technical Staff. This is often in the form of communication from your participant's surgeon, radiologist or medical team.

My participant can't find any information about their implant from authoritative sources, but has had previous MRIs and assures us it's MR safe. Can they scan?

• Having previous MRIs does not automatically clear their implant to scan at CCN. Most MRIs will be clinical, and there are many meaningful differences between clinical scanners/sequences and research scanners/sequences. Plus, because your participant is receiving no clinical benefit from this scan, CCN and your scanning team should aim for zero risk to protect yourselves and the center.

Will a MR tech be provided for my scans?

• CCN staff are typically on-site during regular hours and happy to help in the case of technical issues, scanner questions, and so on. However, they do not attend every scan as an established primary or secondary user. If you need help with developing protocols or learning to use equipment (e.g., the eyetracker), CCN can set up dedicated support time for you to come in. Otherwise, your lab is responsible for having a team capable of running your scans independently.

Why isn't my project showing up on the system?

• The most likely reason for this is because your project has run out of funds. If you navigate to "Projects" --> "Summary of Existing Projects" (or MRI Scheduling > Scheduling Summary), you'll find information about all your lab's projects. Projects with balances in parenthesis i.e. ($1200.00), are overdrawn and more funds need to be encumbered.

Projects Dropdown

Summary of Existing Projects Attn: Project Balance

How do I transfer my scanning protocols from the BMC scanner to the CCN scanner?

• Please export a copy of the .exar1 files of the scanning protocol from BMC scanner computer and email the .exar1 to CCN Technical Staff, who can import the protocol. Alternately, you can also copy the DICOM data of a subject directly from the BMC scanner computer (or from a server) onto a CD, which can be converted in the exam interface. Please contact CCN lab manager with requests and files for transferring protocols. Note: CCN scanner computer does support data/protocols stored on flash drives, but drives must be virus scanned every time before being connected to the host machine. Sophos anti-virus is available on the CCN iMac next to the scan computer.

Can People Visit CCN for Teaching, Filming, or Other Purposes?

• Contact CCN with as much notice as possible. The Center will need to set up an event and provide waivers for unaffiliated visitors that must be completed before they enter the suite.
• Filming is allowed at CCN, but only through proper channels:
  1. Reach out to UCLA Media team in order to fill out appropriate paper work and acquire proper permits.
  2. Reach out to Semel's Facilities Manager for approval. Email CCN staff for his contact information if your lab does not already have it. Make sure to include all relevant logistical details about the session (who you are, your lab's UCLA affiliation, when and where you are requesting permission to film, purpose and duration of the filming, etc.)

In-Scan Troubleshooting

Adding/Deleting Sequences During a Scan

• To stop a sequence that has started: Click the button with the red square on it at the bottom of the screen.
• To start a stopped sequence from the beginning: The sequence you stopped will now be greyed out on the list, as if it had completed and the program is ready to continue on. Right-click the sequence you just stopped and click "Rerun from here", assuming the scan you stopped was the one that had just started and you intend to run the rest of the card from there. If you are trying to redo a sequence that you stopped several series ago, copy it down by clicking on it and dragging it down to when you would like it to be run.
• To delete an upcoming sequence: Right-click the scan and click "Delete". This will remove it from the card you are currently running, but will not delete it from the exam card as it was designed and intended to be run. As such, if you are pressed for time and need to make a real-time decision to skip sequences, be assured that you can delete them from the currently-running program and the entire original card will still appear the next time you start the study.

Closing a Patient

• Click the "Patient" tab at the top left of the screen and choose "Close Patient". You will need to do this if, for example, you realize the patient has been registered incorrectly and you need to redo it, or you need to end the scan.
• If you are trying to do this while paused between sequences, you may find that the "Close Patient" option is greyed out and you cannot click on it. Start the next sequence and stop it again immediately--the "Close Patient" option should now be available to you. This occurs because the software automatically prepares the next sequence after it finishes the current one, so you cannot close out when the scanner is already primed to continue. Allowing the primed sequence to begin and stopping it tells the system that the user wants the procedure stopped and it is now okay to close out the registered patient.

Editing Registration Info

Editing Registration Info After Scan

• Here is a screen shot from the CCN Operations Manual, which can be found on the desktop of the iMac computer next to the scanning console and the BruinLearn Safety and Training Course

Sometimes, if the coils aren't plugged in correctly or if the scanner has been working continuously for a long time, unusual things will happen during your protocol. These issues may include your scan not starting or acquisition stopping mid-sequence with strange activity on the bore screen.

In some cases, it may be necessary to reboot the system (and in fact, restarts are conducted regularly outside of operating hours to keep data acquisition running as smoothly as possible). Before restarting the whole system, however, first determine if your issue can be resolved by other methods.

Retry the Failed Series

• Right-click > Rerun From Here on the sequence that acquisition failed on. Start-stop if necessary.
• See "Adding/Deleting a Sequences During a Scan" further above on this page for help with this.

Re-plug the Coils

This can help if you notice your sequence refusing to start (e.g., the status says "Preparing...", then cycles back to "Waiting for User to Continue" without doing anything). Other typical accompanying errors include "Preparation of measurement system has failed" and "failed to converge".

• Move the bed back to home.
• Remove the participant or at least have them sit up.
• Unplug the coils. Make sure the posterior coil is flush with the back of the bed and not sitting crookedly in the square space. Plug the coil back in.
  • The 32ch coil is sensitive to positioning inconsistencies. Be aware that just being able to push the plug into the port isn't enough--make sure the posterior coil is completely flush with the back of the bed and everything is lined up straight. When the posterior is plugged in and ready, you should be able to push it (in the direction of the bore) and feel no movement at all.
  • Confirm there are no coil file errors on the bore screen and no System Check errors on the console.
• Re-align and send the participant back to isocenter.

Reset the Bed Alignment

Re-aligning the bed can help resolve the issue in which the bore screen reads "Isocenter" in positions that are not isocenter. This can be done even while you have a participant on the bed--just be sure to talk them through what's happening.

• Move the bed back to home.
• Unplug and re-plug the coil connections.
• Lower the bed down (as if you were preparing to have a participant climb up or step down).
• Move the bed back to home. Re-align and try moving to isocenter again.

Completely Redo the Patient Setup

• Close out the subject.
• Redo the prep as if you were just beginning a new scan:
  • Move the bed back to the home position. Unplug and re-plug the coils. Re-navigate the bed to isocenter.
  • Re-register the participant. You can use the same Subject ID if you'd like--everything is timestamped, so the console will allow you to do this. You will just get multiple subdirectories under that ID's folder in the DICOM server, differentiated by timestamp. If you'd rather have the new attempt saved under an entirely new folder at the Subject ID level, use a different ID.
  • Try running your protocol again.

Restart the Scanner

• If nothing is working, a reboot may be in order. Open the Staglin Operating Manual on the iMac computer to refer to the instructions for Standard Shutdown and Reboot Procedures.
• If you have never rebooted before or have questions about the process, contact CCN staff to help walk you through the reboot steps.
• This will take about 15 minutes from beginning to end, so make a decision appropriate to your participant's and the users' availability.
• Inform CCN personnel about any persisting errors.