MRI Lab general

MRI lab head: Dr Julien Besle

Head of operations: Dr Nadège Bault

Lead radiographer: Ben Walton

MR physicists: Drs Jamie Roberts and Malek Benattayallah

Contact

To contact the MRI lab, email BRIC.MRI-lab.heads@plymouth.ac.uk

Lab resources

Information about our MRI scanner the Siemens Magnetom Prisma 3T can be found here

We have the following kits available in the Lab:

• Stimulus presentation computer, screen, responses buttons and a joystick for task based fMRI research

• MR-compatible headphones and insert earphones

• MR-compatible EEG cap and amplifier for simultaneous EEG-fMRI

• MR-compatible biopac with EDA and ECG electrodes

• MR-compatible glasses with a range of prescription lenses

(see MRI Peripherals and Experimental Software for more details)

We have a number of ready-to-go MR sequences for:

• structural MRI

• BOLD fMRI

• Diffusion-weighted MRI

• Spectroscopy

as well as the capacity to develop custom sequences.

Planning a new study - step by step

1. Fill a - New Study Form and send it to BRIC@plymouth.ac.uk. If you do not know how to answer some of the questions, if you are using a new protocole / technique or if this is your research group’s first MRI study, email the lab heads first.

2. Submit an ethics application (see section Get ethics approval for template forms and relevant information)

3. Present your study at the Neuroimaging Journal Club

4. Get safety trained (see Safety training for more details)

Note

The radiographers will operate the scanner and ensure the comfort and safety of research participants in the lab. Researchers will be responsible for presenting stimuli in task-based studies and for acquiring signals other than MRI images, such as ECG, EDA, and EEG.

5. Ask the Head of operations or MRI lab head to give you access to the MRI bookers group on the resource booking system

6. Make an appointment with the MRI lab heads and/or MR physicists (for novel sequences) to set your protocol up, on the scanner console

7. Book the scanner to run a phantom scan and one or two pilots (with staff members only)

8. Check your pilot data. Ideally test your analysis pipeline as well

Once your ethics is approved:

9. You are ready to start your data acquisition.

Safety and ethics

See these documents for details of BRIC MR Safety and Operating rules and policies.

BRIC MRI Local Rules

BRIC Safety and Risk Operational Policy

Safety training

Before being able to access the MRI lab, you will need to complete a safety training. Level1 safety training can be ran individually. Level 2 sessions may be ran bi-monthly, depending on the needs, in small groups. The training will be renewed annually. For level1, this annual refresher will be online.

Once level 1 safety trained, you will have to spend about 10 scanning hours in the lab and demonstrate that you understand and comply with the safety rules, before you get free access to the lab .

The levels of safety training and access to the scanner are summarised in the MR lab access levels document

click here to enlarge

Safety questionnaires must be filled by staff and research participants before they can enter the restricted MRI environment. Safety screening will be conducted by a radiographer or a trained operator. Researchers are encouraged to pre-screen their participants in order to avoid rejection on the scanning day.

safety questionnaire - adult research participants

safety questionnaire - staff (permit to work)

Ethics

You can find template information and consent forms in section MRI Lab: how to Get ethics approval, as well as a general information sheet for participants coming for a scan.