Dear YNiC users,
As scanning resumes we are continuing to follow cautious covid-19
procedures, and for this reason we are not accepting general consent forms
from participants in person.
Instead, researchers should provide general consent forms to their
prospective participants, and then the researcher should deliver the
completed forms to YNiC themselves. In the unusual circumstance that no-one
is available to receive the forms in person, the forms should be left in
the grey letterbox next to the reception door.
We realise this is inconvenient, and we are working on a secure electronic
solution, so this should only be a temporary stop-gap measure. *Please do
not email completed general consent forms.*
It is important that general consent is completed more than 24 hours before
the scan time as this constitutes a part of your ethical responsibility to
provide informed consent and allow the subject time to reconsider their
participation. If absolutely unavoidable, general consent forms can be
signed on the day of a scan but the researcher should contact us in advance
at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk to let us know this will happen, and must still
talk the participant through the form in advance.
Best wishes,
Rich
--
Dr Richard Aveyard
Senior Research Technician
York NeuroImaging Centre
University of York, UK
Hi all,
Further to our previous communications, scanning services have now resumed
at YNiC. We have procedures in place to do this safely, and continue to
monitor the situation and adapt as we all begin to resume day to day
activities.
Note that while a great deal of effort has gone into this, we will
inevitably have overlooked a couple of details so please work with us to
get things going smoothly.
Operator slots are being added to the booking system, and you can book
non-operator time if you have qualified operators. You can now recruit
participants from outside your research group as long as the Dept of
Psychology's face to face testing procedures have been followed, and you
work within the guidelines of using the centre. These procedures are
relatively unchanged from those we sent you in October/November 2020 (when
we had a brief period of research activity).
As a reminder, here are the requirements and processes in place (these
first 3 have always been standard practice):
- In advance of the visit, you should make sure your participant is
registered at YNiC by completing and submitting to us the YNiC general
consent form :
-
https://www.ynic.york.ac.uk/forms?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=GeneralCo…
- We also advise that you go through the MRI safety screening form
with them in advance of the date to ensure that it is safe to scan them in
MRI
-
https://www.ynic.york.ac.uk/forms?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=sMRISessi…
- You should complete your study-specific consent forms as submitted
and approved by the ethics committee.
Additional requirements relating to Covid-19 measures:
- Before being given access to resume scanning at YNiC your lab will
sign a form to confirm:
- You have read, understood the YNIC participant journey document:
-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A1Jh-JJ21o0WoxqAvIR9CntyN5MyAsxq/view?usp=…
- You have read, understood the YNIC MRI specific research risk
assessment:
-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cAAGZM0X-AxFvEJMdaObYDrxx9LZKqBE/view?usp=…
- You have read, understood and followed the steps in the Dept of
Psychology's "Face-to-Face Testing in Psychology" guidelines at:
-
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SftgbpdU8dkImMMHEt5nY7lOIH1-7Rse5o38rFi…
- As part of that process will need to complete, and have certified by
the HoD, the “Face to Face Research Activity COVID-19 Secure Check
Sheet”
-
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hl-TXlkGnC87JF4AkYxAg5pfj7wDzn286wlAghr…
- As part of the safety screening of the subject on their scan day, they
will complete an additional Covid-19 specific screening and information
form:
-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jNvsW1hV5yWMisPLhmL5qCQv48tBGYoI/view?usp=…
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jv51X_wJe50FBSjwbBPADrKpFHIAcSomkWh0uxz…>
If you have any queries please contact us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk
See you soon!
--
André
************************************************************************
*André Gouws PhD*
*Operations Manager *
*York Neuroimaging Centre and York Diagnostic Imaging*
*University of York*
*The Biocentre*
*York Science Park*
*Heslington*
*YO10 5NY*
*Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327*
*Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356 *
Please see the MEG status update, prepared by Richard Aveyard, below:
Dear YNiC users,
With the anticipated resumption of research at YNiC in the coming
months, we will once again be offering time on the MEG system. While
doing so, we are keen to make sure that all researchers are aware of the
status of the MEG equipment.
The new MEG system was installed in the autumn/ winter of 2019 and
trialled on MSc projects through February 2020. The trials were largely
successful, with good quality data recorded. However, a small number of
recordings had to be aborted due to issues with the power supply to the
signal processing electronics. At around the same time, the manufacturer
of the system ceased trading, so can no longer offer support.
To resolve the problem with an increasingly unreliable power supply,
custom electronics were installed by YNiC staff through 2020. The
modification work is now complete, and the MEG system is once again
ready to make recordings. We are doing everything within our power to
ensure the ongoing quality of MEG recordings: the stability of the power
supply is constantly being monitored, and regular quality assurance
recordings are being performed.
As such, we are now offering MEG recording facilities with the proviso
that the system has not yet undergone long-term testing, so we are
unable to guarantee reliability.
In the coming weeks a number of projects will begin making recordings on
the MEG system, and we welcome any further projects. We understand that
in some cases, researchers may prefer to defer starting a project until
more data has been successfully acquired. However, we can offer the
assurance that in the event that recordings are spoiled due to equipment
failures, projects will be reimbursed all charges.
If you would like any further information regarding MEG at YNiC, please
contact us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk <mailto:support@ynic.york.ac.uk> .
--
André
************************************************************************
André Gouws PhD
CQC Registered Manager
Operations Manager
York Neuroimaging Centre and York Diagnostic Imaging
University of York
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Heslington
YO10 5NY
Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327
Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356
