Starting a Project and Policies

Starting New Projects

1) Fill out a Project Information Form or an Animal Project Intake Form.
2) Email your completed project form to bmic@uw.edu
3) Our director will review the form and we will contact you with questions.
4) Study personnel involved in the scanning will be requested to take the online safety training.
5) Once approved, you may login to the BMIC online calendar and follow the instructions below. For Questions about the Project Intake Forms or scheduling contact bmic@uw.edu or 206-616-1697.

Policies

All research studies must have a Project Application Form (PIF) approved by the BMIC Director prior to scheduling.
Human studies requiring technologist scan support can only be scheduled during business hours (8AM-5PM Mon-Fri). Studies outside of this time must have prior approval.
A member of the study (usually a research coordinator) who has completed the MR Safety Training must be present during the scan.

For human studies outside normal business hours

No contrast studies may be performed outside normal business hours without prior permission
The BMIC MR Technologist or another member of the BMIC staff must be present.

For animal studies

Due to cleanup times required, animal studies should be scheduled for the FIRST or LAST slots of any given day.

Using the online calendar

Once you have an approved project, you can schedule a scan using the online calendar system. If you need to add or remove a team member to the calendar, please contact BMIC@uw.edu with the person’s name, UWnetID, and project name.

Requesting Time Slots

After logging in to the calendar, to reserve scan time, click “NEW” at the top of the date you would like to schedule. A new window will pop up where you can enter scan information. When requesting a scan time, please be very clear and include as much information about your study as possible.

Project name can be chose from drop-down menu if you have multiple projects
Start time of the scan
The duration of the scan is prefilled from the time you entered in your project information form.
Subject ID or initials (you must have subject ID# to start scan)
Any other relevant info such as: IV required & physician coverage, claustro/patient medications, universal precautions, set up/clean up, etc.

Contrast Studies

For all studies in which subjects receive medications (including MR contrast agents), a licensed physician must be present during the study and for a minimum of 20 minutes after drug administration. As noted in the PIF, study investigators are responsible for arranging physician coverage.

Special Requests

We make every attempt to accommodate special requests, for example, requests for non-business scan hours with technical support. However, with the growing number of studies vying for image time we ask that users be flexible.

Special requests should be sent to:

BMIC@uw.edu

You may also call BMIC at 206-616-1697

Cancellations and partially completed scans.

Cancellations are accepted up to 48 hours in advance. Use the online calendar to cancel. Click on the event you want to cancel, and under “Status” change the drop-down to “Cancel”, and click “update”.

Please make every effort to keep these incidents to a minimum by calling your subjects to confirm their appointments, making sure that they know when and where to report for the study, and how they can reach you at any time.

Billing for partially completed scans

Sometimes scans cannot be completed due to patient motion, claustrophobia, or other reasons. As a University cost center, BMIC must bill for the full time booked for a scan during normal business hours. For scans outside of business hours, studies will be billed for the amount of scanner time used in 15 minute increments.

Scan Summary

To better manage your scheduled scan time, review your scan time summary information for each project. On the top of the MR 3T Schedule page, click on “My Project”. You will see a list of your project(s). Click on the project title to see the summary and detail of information on that project.

Email Reminder

An automated reminder email will be sent to the scheduler.

MR Screening Form and Implants

The MR Screening form can be used for phone or in person subject screening. A copy will need to be completed and filed at BMIC prior to the scan.

The online MRI database may be consulted for general advice on safety of implants. BMIC staff will need to confirm that implants are safe for 3T MRI prior to scanning– please contact us before the visit.