Staglin MR Suite

MRI Facilities & Equipment

Scanning Facilities

The Staglin IMHRO Center for Cognitive Neuroscience operates a Siemens 3 Tesla Prisma Fit MRI Scanner equipped with 20, 32, and 64 channel head coils.

• Sequences: Standout sequences include full CMRR multi band package, Siemens simultaneous multi slice with physio logging, 3D multi-delay pCASL, T1 and T2 structural with navigator technology, multi shell, multi band diffusion, MEGAPRESS and HERMES multi voxel spectroscopy.

General Policies

All policies of the Staglin One Mind CCN aim to ensure participant and experimenter safety and to foster a community of respect, consideration and co-operation. If not followed, the Staglin One Mind CCN reserves the right to review and possibly revoke scanning privileges.

• Safety and Certification: For the safety of both the participants and the investigators, all scans must have two MR-safety certified investigators in the facility for the entire duration of the scan. In case this cannot be assured, please make arrangements with one of our MR Technicians to provide support. MR Technicians are not required to be on premises during all scans, and cannot be assumed to provide back up support without prior notice. Please take a look at our safety site for resources and information. Please note that CCN safety certificaiton is done remotely. Follow instructions on enrolling in the Staglin Safety Course on CCLE to start the safety certification process. All links and resources necessary can be found on the CCLE Course. Please only email MR Tech if you are experiencing trouble enrolling in CCLE course, or you have questions with the materials.
  • Enrollment Instructions
• Scanning Protocol: In addition to safety training, investigators must become familiar with the Center’s computing, peripherals and general operations protocols. The MR Technician offers a bi-monthy (every other) review/training to familiarize individuals with operations in the MR suite. Additional training opportunities with more experienced users will be arranged as appropriate.
• Incident Reporting: Users are responsible for communicating with CCN staff any equipment malfunction or software irregularities that occur during the course of the scan session. This may include scanner error messages which do not allow users to continue with their session, the breaking or malfunction of peripheral equipment etc. Emergency incidents, such as injuries, natural disasters or magnet quench, should be relayed to the MR Tech immediately and CCN's Incident Reporting Form should be filled out in a timely manner.
• Scan Time: All scans are expected to start and end promptly at the scheduled time. It is the investigators’ responsibility to communicate with the CCN staff and/or other investigators if these times can’t be met. Please note that CCN and/or other investigators may not be able to accommodate requests for change of scheduled time when these are communicated less than 24 hrs prior to the appointment.

Peripheral Equipement

Peripheral equipment available for projects include:

• Siemens headphone/speak system,
• Siemens physiological measurement system,
  • Includes pulse, respiration, and EKG.
• VisuaStim digital system by RTC,
  • Includes goggles/headphone/controller unit.
• Optoacoustics noise-canceling headphones and microphone,
  • Operation and Troubleshooting Guide In-Progress.
• BOLDscreen 24" LCD Display,
  • LCD projection system controlled via fiberoptic cabling. Operation and Troubleshooting Guide In-Progress.
• 4-button, 2-button, and track-ball response devices by Current Designs,
  • Operation and Troubleshooting Guide In-Progress.
• 32 channel electronic interface and power supply unit, and
• BIOPAC MP150
  • For collecting physiological measures.
  • Includes skin conductance, respiration rate, and pulse rate/waveform.

Quality Control

Staglin runs a daily stability check via the Siemens Service Platform to check signal intensity and drift. A weekly QA protocol and a more in-depth monthly routine is also acquired for advanced analysis.

Multimodal Data Collection

• Concurrent EEG
• Low Frequency Focused Ultrasound
• Eye Tracking

Dedicated iMac Computer

The MR suite is equipped with a dedicated iMac computer running Mac OS Sierra with a dual-boot Windows 10 partition capable of running:

• Psychophysics Software:
  • Psychtoolbox,
  • PsychoPy,
  • E-Prime,
• MATLAB 2015b
• AcqKnowledge 4 (for BioPac MP150)
• FIRMM

For new software, please contact the MR Technician before installation.

How to record EKG using the Siemens built-in system

The Siemens Trio Scanner comes with its own EKG monitoring system which wirelessly transmits the patient EKG signal to the recording computer.

Setting up the EKG

The same principles of EKG prep hold true, except there are three leads: Right Arm, Right Leg and Left Leg

1. Prepare the areas by wiping them down with an alcohol wipe
2. Scrub the areas with a cotton swab using NuPrep
3. Re-clean the area with an alcohol wipe and allow to dry
4. Apply lead stickers to each of the areas and connect the proper EKG leads to them, they are labeled:

• RA - Right Arm
• RL - Right Leg
• LL - Left Leg

1. Tape down the EKG leads so they stay connected to the stickers.
2. Tape down the wireless device box so it doesn't move.
3. Prep the subject for EEG

Setting up the Scanner

STILL TESTING THIS PART

MR Suite Supplies

Where to order supplies

• GSR electrodes (EL509, 100 electrodes/box): Biopac Systems, Inc.
• Self-adhesive wrap (Coban tan wrap, item # 2082, 2 in x 5 yardm 36 rolls/box): Vitality Medical