Enquiries

For initial enquiries related to using the 3T MRI scanner at the CAIR facility, or other resources, contact the CAIR Administrator or the CAIR director.

Following this, the steps below outline the process of obtaining scan time.

Funding

You need to provide us with details of how you are going to pay for your scans, how many hours of scan time you require and over what estimated duration. Also we need to know what additional resources you are requesting, e.g.,, use of the fMRI kit, help from CAIR to run the scanner, etc, some of which also have cost implications. Initially, provide this information in the form of a letter describing an outline of the study and addressing all the point above.

All future studies must demonstrate a funding source. Investigators who are seeking new funding and require initial data and feasibility of a new MRI protocol or experimental set-up may apply for a CAIR Startup Award through discussion with the CAIR Director.

Paperwork

We need a copy of your IRB approval letter, the MR safety form that you will be using, and a copy of the protocol relevant to the MR side of the study - ideally a copy of the entire application would be best. This will be collated and managed by the CAIR Business Administrator.

Training

You will need to arrange some scan time with Koushik. This has two purposes - to train you in the scanner operation to ensure you're safe and competent to run it, and to set up your study-specific protocol on the scanner. Guidelines and documentation are available for using the MR scanner. These training sessions will not be charged.

Booking

Once the above steps have been completed, you will be granted access to the scanner calender. This will allow you to book scan time. The calender is audited regularly so it is important that you keep your schedule up-to-date, especially to prevent being charged for sessions that you did not use. Sessions which do not take place because the subject or patient did not show will not be charged but to ensure this you must inform the CAIR Business Administrator for each session.

Once your account has been approved, you may book scanner time using the 30 Bee 3T Siemens Scanner Schedule.

In addition to auditing the calender, the record of actual image acquisition on the scanner will also be audited using the CAIR PACS system and compared.