Common Issues

Here you will find descriptions of issues commonly encountered during typical scan operations and general guides on how to resolve them. For more specialized troubleshooting guides, go to the Troubleshooting section of the Main Page and click on the topic that best suits the equipment you need help with.

Console

Adding/Deleting Sequences While a Scan is Running

• 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" if 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 sequences 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 if you need to end the scan early.
• 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 happens 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 software that the user wants the procedure stopped and it is now okay to close out the registered patient.

Peripherals Setup

Task Failed to Trigger

• Exit your task (and ideally its entire host program) completely. Unplug the trigger cable. If there have been any shenanigans with the button box, re-configure those settings in the controller box now. Plug the trigger cable back in and start your task again. This restart routine is usually sufficient to fix trigger problems because most of them arise from the task program not communicating with the console computer correctly. Matlab in particular can be finicky about this--unplugging and re-plugging the trigger USB while Matlab is running will cause unreliable behaviors.

Task Screen Not Appearing in Control Room and/or BOLD Screen

• Unplug the HDMI cable from your task computer. Make sure that the HDMI Splitter box is turned on (there is a switch on the back left of it) and all the cables are plugged into their respective ports (labelled on the box). Move the cables to their correct spots and/or restart the splitter as necessary. Make sure your task computer display settings are configured to duplicate (not extend) displays on external monitors. Plug the HDMI cable back into your task computer and if it still will not at least mirror your screen on the BOLD screen, unplug the BOLD screen cable from the splitter and plug it in directly to your task computer. You will not be able to monitor the task from the external display in the control room, but at least the participant will be able to see the task from the BOLD screen.

Button Box Failed to Respond

• Redo the settings on the controller box as outlined by the instructions taped directly above it. Remember that steps 3 and/or 5 will be different depending on whether you are using the 2-button box, 4-button box, or trackball mouse. Make sure the cables in the scanner suite are connected firmly.
• If one or more buttons are still not responding, ask the MR Tech for another box. There are two 4-button boxes.

Scanner Suite

Blankets

• If there are no more blankets in the cabinet, spare linens are in the tall cabinet marked "Linens" by the corner desk in the main room. Many other spare supplies will be there, including scrubs and mesh covers, in their respectively labelled cabinets.

Linens Basket

• When the linens basket is full, tie up the bag containing all the used linens and take it out into the main room. Leave it against the wall by the tall trash can.