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Scheduling Request Guidelines

June 2024: All booking requests should be sent to cfmischeduler@gmail.com until further notice.

See our General Scheduling Guidelines for instructions on submitting your request.

Weekday scanning appointments are available for all research, clinical trial and development projects during CFMI standard operating hours.

  • Scan appointments are billed in 15-minute increments with a minimum booking of 30 minutes. A session includes:
    • Participant set-up time, including the set-up of any specialized equipment and any accommodations for special participant populations.
    • Transitions between fMRI tasks, including the time it takes to give instructions to the participant.
    • Time to repeat scans due to participant motion, discomfort, etc.
  • Scan appointments must be requested and confirmed at least 24 hours in advance.
    • Changes to an existing scan appointment, including shortening or lengthening the duration, should also be requested and confirmed at least 24 hours in advance.
  • Cancellations of a scan appointment must be submitted before 11:59 PM the night prior to the appointment to avoid charge.
  • Same-day cancellations will be billed in full. This includes any cancellations due to participant safety, timeliness, etc. Please review our implant review standards thoroughly before scheduling a participant.
  • Development hours should not be used to collect data on the research population of interest for publication.

Our Ethical Booking Request Policy

To ensure efficient use of scanner time and fair access for all users, we’ve established an Ethical Booking Policy that all research teams must follow when scheduling scans.

  • No pre-booking or placeholder bookings: Scans should only be requested for participants who have been screened for MR compatibility. Each scan must be associated with a specific participant ID.
    • Scans may be requested for a participant with an implant review submission that is pending approval by an Authorized User.
  • No gaps between scans: All scans must be scheduled back-to-back with existing scans as much as possible.
    • For days with existing bookings: Request a scan that is back-to-back with an existing scan.
    • For days without existing bookings: Request a scan that is either at the beginning or end of the day, or with space for a full one-hour scan with no gaps.
  • Account for setup and cleanup time: Your booking should include enough time for the participant to be put in and taken out of the scanner comfortably.
    • Projects that utilize special equipment or setups should allot extra time when requesting bookings.

Weekend scanning appointments are only available to pediatric participants. If your research group qualifies for weekend scanning, you will receive separate information regarding weekend availability.

  • The availability of weekend scanning days is decided based on user need and CFMI staff availability.
  • Eligible research groups will be invited to join the Weekend Scanning Google group. Members of this group have view access to the Weekend Scanning Google calendar to see which weekend days the scanner is available. Weekend scanning appointments should be requested in the same way as weekday scanning appointments.

General Request Policies:

  • Scans are to be booked 9am-5pm.
  • At least two scans must be booked per weekend day and all scans must be back-to-back. Collaboration with other weekend groups is key!
  • Scans on weekends without existing bookings must be requested by 3 PM on the Friday of the prior week.
  • The deadline for changes (additions or cancellations) to weekend days that do have other scans is 5 PM the Wednesday prior to that weekend.
  • Cancellations after Wednesday at 5 PM will be charged.
  • No development time may be scheduled on weekends.

The Behavioral Room and NIRS Room are two spaces at CFMI that are available for all users to book free of charge. These spaces are commonly used for private screening, behavioral testing, and training. The Behavioral Room also holds the mock scanner, which can be helpful for preparing participants for MRI.

Behavioral Room and NIRS Room reservations may be requested at any time.

When not reserved, these rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis. Please be respectful of these shared spaces and be mindful of other research teams’ bookings.

The stimulus computer is available for use whenever the scanner is not in use. To prioritize scanning needs, the stimulus computer can only be booked up to 48 hours in advance. Users often book stimulus computer time to develop, test, and debug their scripts and to transfer behavioral data.