For everyone who uses YNIC, or who might use YNIC in the future.
Dear All,
Following new University rules, Andre and I have had to make changes to
various YNIC procedures. The changes affect how we apply for ethical
approval and inform participants, as well as how we collect, store and
share data. There's a summary of the changes below, and the updated
guidance notes, ethics application and information sheet (please make sure
you use version 8 for all of these) can be found on these websites,
together with the other documents you'll need.
YNIC page <https://www.ynic.york.ac.uk/forms>
Psychology page
<https://www.york.ac.uk/psychology/research/york-neuroimaging-centre/facilit…>
Any questions, let me know.
Best wishes,
Fiona
(YNIC Research Ethics Committee)
*Summary of changes*
Researchers must decide whether a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)
is needed for their study.
We have completed a DPIA for standard procedures and types of data commonly
processed by researchers using YNIC (DPIA_183
<https://vcs.ynic.york.ac.uk/ynic-public/forms/-/raw/master/YNICDPIA183.pdf>).
If you will be processing any other kinds of data, or plan to deviate from
the procedures outlined in DPIA_183, you may need your own study-specific
DPIA. Guidance is given here
<https://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/dp/dataprivacyimpactassessments/>
.
The full DPIA_183 can be found here
<https://vcs.ynic.york.ac.uk/ynic-public/forms/-/raw/master/YNICDPIA183.pdf>.
Please check that document to determine whether your study is covered by
DPIA_183. Below is a summary of the key points.
1) We routinely collect “special category personal data
<https://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/dp/whatispersonaldata/>”
(particularly data relating to health) when screening participants during
recruitment, when deciding whether it is safe for the participant to be
scanned or when deciding whether a person belongs to a population of
interest. DPIA_183 covers:
i) Standard questions we usually include when screening participant during
recruitment, (check the list at the bottom of the email to see what’s
included),
ii) The general consent form issued by and held at YNIC (for full details
of the procedure, check the full version of DPIA_183
<https://vcs.ynic.york.ac.uk/ynic-public/forms/-/raw/master/YNICDPIA183.pdf>
,
iii) Standard study-specific questions and other behavioural / additional
experiments (check the list below to see what’s included),
iii) The three safety screening forms (MRI, MEG, TMS). The data from these
are held at YNIC (for full details of the procedure, check the full version
of DPIA_183
<https://vcs.ynic.york.ac.uk/ynic-public/forms/-/raw/master/YNICDPIA183.pdf>
,
*If you wish to collect any kind of data that is not covered by DPIA_183,
you will need to determine whether you need to complete your own DPIA,
which must be approved by the University data protection officer before the
study can begin*.
2) For your initial screening questions to be covered by DPIA_183, *you
must gather this data using a Google form *(managed by the individual
research group), *either filled in by the participant or by the researcher
on behalf of the participant*. If the questions are asked verbally, the
answers will be read back to the participant to ensure that errors have not
been introduced. If the participant seeks further clarification from the
researcher or YNiC staff, they may be asked necessary follow-up questions
verbally. The data should be stored using Google Sheets on Google Workspace
under the University’s Google Licence.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the data are held securely. Advice
can be found here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ0Nq-f1qI>, here
<https://support.google.com/docs/answer/2839588?ref_topic=6063592#zippy=%2Cs…>
and
here <https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/howdoiguide/collaborate-google-files>
.
When giving the initial screening questions, participants must be told the
following:
*“Magnetic Resonance (MR) research takes place in a strong magnetic field.
Therefore, no metallic items can be taken into the scanner since they will
get attracted by the magnet. They may also be heated up by the radio waves.
For the same reason, people with metallic implants or other items cannot be
scanned. There may be other reasons why a person cannot take part in the
research. For example, we may need certain people to be able to answer our
specific research questions. If you wish to take part in the research, we
need answers to the following questions so we can establish whether or not
you can take part in the research. Please remember that participation is
purely voluntary. “*
Researchers should ask the potential participants to read the YNiC safety
forms relevant to the modality of scanning to be carried out (i.e. MRI, MEG
or TMS, or any combination of them) and ask the participant/potential
participant to confirm that there are no contraindications on those forms
that mean that they cannot safely take part in the study.
These data are held by the investigators and must only be used to determine
whether or not the person can take part in the research, or whether they
meet the criteria for a certain experimental group or control group.
Health data from the screening questions may be shared with YNiC staff or
other members of the research group who are internal to the University, but
only in anonymised form.
Google forms containing the health-related screening information must be
deleted when a participant decides not to participate or when it has been
decided that they do not meet the criteria for participation. If a
participant meets the criteria and decides to take part, the Google form
will be retained if the information may be required for data analysis. In
this case, data will be held for a minimum of 10 years. Data will not be
deleted unless by explicit request from the participant. It may not be
possible to delete data if they are already processed and / or published -
participants must be made aware of this when they consent to take part in
the study.
Following the initial screening procedure, study-specific data may be
collected from the participant (eg. using a study-specific consent form,
specific behavioural/psychological assessments). Consent information will
be necessarily stored in a non-anonymised format; all other behavioural /
assessment information relating to any individual participant will be
stored with reference to their pseudo-anonymised ID only. These data will
be held for a minimum of 10 years. Data will not be deleted unless by
explicit request from the participant. It may not be possible to delete
data if they are already processed and / or published - participants must
be made aware of this when they consent to take part in the study.
When issuing the information sheet to participants, participants should
also be given a GDPR compliant privacy notice
<https://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/dp/guidance/privacynotices/>.
There is a template
<https://vcs.ynic.york.ac.uk/ynic-public/forms/-/raw/master/ResearchPrivacyN…>
on the YNIC ethics webpage.
*If you wish to deviate from the procedure outlined here, you need to
assess whether a study-specific DPIA is necessary
<https://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/dp/dataprivacyimpactassessments/>.*
3) MR data, even when stored in a pseudorandomised manner, may be
considered “*special category personal data
<https://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/dp/whatispersonaldata/>*”. Some
MRI data can be reconstructed in such a way that they could be considered
to reveal “biometric information”. It is also possible to reconstruct head
shape (and thus face) in 3D from an MRI scan, so that a participant could
be identified from their their pseudo-anonymised MRI data. Also, as sulcal
and gyral folding patterns and the configuration of the brain are unique to
each person, they can be considered as representing a potential “brain
fingerprint”.
Recovering the identity of a participant in this way would be contrary to
all data protection policies already in place at YNiC. It could also
represent a breach of section 171 of the Data Protection Act 2018:
*It is an offence for a person knowingly or recklessly to re-identify
information that is de-identified personal data without the consent of the
controller responsible for de-identifying the personal data.*
i, Data from the scanners are transferred to the YNiC servers and stored in
a pseudo-anonymised format. These data can be accessed by investigators who
agree to abide by all YNiC data protection policies and procedures. These
policies include a declaration signed by each investigator, which confirms
that investigators will not use pseudo-anonymised data to try to determine
the identity of the person from whom it was obtained.
*All researchers and staff who have access to the centre must sign the YNiC
Appropriate Data Usage Declaration
<https://vcs.ynic.york.ac.uk/ynic-public/forms/-/raw/master/AppropriateDataU…>
when
they register to have access to data stored at YNiC (NB - all active users
of the centre will have to sign this declaration retrospectively if they
are currently using the center, both for newly acquired data and data
acquired in the past). The signed form must be submitted to the YNIC
reception. *
ii, Data are held at YNiC. *Researchers can only copy data from YNiC
servers if they a) have obtained approval from the YNIC Research Ethics
Committee (by emailing *rec-submission(a)ynic.york.ac.uk) *and 2)* *do this
in a way that does not allow others to reconstruct biometric data that
could be used to reveal the identity of an individual participant’s data
from that participant’s pseudo-anonymised data set. *If they do need to
share data outside of the organisation that would allow such a
representation to be constructed, *a separate DPIA will be needed*. In this
case researchers will also need to work with the University’s Research and
Knowledge Exchange Contracts Team to ensure an appropriate agreement is in
place (eg. a Memorandum of Understanding to cover Intellectual Property
etc.
*List *
To determine whether a potential participant meets the safety criteria for
participating in a research study, the participant may be asked any of the
following questions (any questions that are not needed for a certain study
must be removed by the researcher). It will be made clear to the individual
that we need answers to these questions only if they still wish to take
part, and they will be reminded that participation is purely voluntary.
- Do you have any metallic implants or items including cardiac
pacemakers, pacing wires, cochlear implants, metallic aneurysm clips,
metallic fragments in the eye, certain types of bio-mechanical implants and
fixed dental braces?
- Do you have a programmable hydrocephalus shunt?
- Have you ever had any operations on your heart, head or spine?
- Do you have or have ever had a spinal or other neuro stimulator?
- Have you had any surgery which involved the use of medical
implants? (e.g., hip or knee replacements, breast or penile implants, or
any procedure using metal stents e.g., coronary arteries)?
- Do you have a fixed dental brace?
- Have you had any surgery in the last 3 months?
- Have you, at any time, had an injury to your eye involving metal
fragments?
- Do you have any shrapnel in your body?
- Do you have any medicinal patches? including nicotine, hormone
- Do you have epilepsy? / Have you ever had a fit or seizure?
- Do you have any diseases/disorders related to the eye or brain?
- Do you have an Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Device?
- Are you claustrophobic?
- Do you have normal or corrected to normal vision?
- Do you wear glasses? / If yes, what prescription lenses do you
wear?
- Do you have normal hearing?
- Are you neurologically healthy? / Do you have a history of
neurological disease?
- Do you have / have you had any neurological problems?
- Do you have/ have you had any psychiatric problems (including
anxiety or depressive disorders)?
- Do you have any history of mental illness?
- Do you have / have you had a developmental disorder?
- Do you have dyslexia?
- Do you have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? /
Do you have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)?
- Are you taking certain prescription medications?
*(we may specify certain medications, for example we might ask “Do you use
medications/drugs with potential vascular or central nervous system
effects?”)*
- Are you pregnant or do you believe you could be pregnant?
- Have you ever had a Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) / stroke?
- Can you tell me when you had your stroke/ most recent stroke?
- Do you have any brain damage e.g., Parkinsons, Alzheimers?
- Other than your stroke, have you ever experienced any other form
of brain damage? Do you think it's possible you have dementia or
Parkinson's disease, for instance? Or have you ever suffered a traumatic
brain injury?
- Do you experience fatigue?
- When you had your stroke, can you remember which hospital you
were admitted to? If so, do you remember which consultant you were seen
by/had contact with?
- Did you have any speech and language therapy following your
stroke? If so, how often did you have these sessions and for what period of
time? Are you taking part in any speech and language therapy at the moment?
- Since your stroke do you experience any weakness on one side of
your body? If so, which side?"
- If possible, it's useful for us to know which areas of your
brain were affected by your stroke. Can you remember having an MRI scan
while in hospital following your stroke? If so, do you remember which
hospital this scan took place at? Would you be happy for us to try and
obtain some images of this scan from the hospital? If so, we can submit a
request together with you, and can make sure you have access to these
images as well if that's something you'd like?
- Have you ever been diagnosed with any form of sleep disorder?
- Have you ever been diagnosed with any form of hormonal disorder?
- Are you a smoker?
If the following questions are needed, the participant will be asked to
tick one box to confirm that all the statements they are given are true.
They will not be asked to answer these questions separately.
*During the past three months, I have not used any illicit drugs for
recreational purposes During the past three months, I have not regularly
consumed in excess of 14 units of alcohol (equivalent to six pints of beer
or seven glasses of wine) per week*
We may also ask participants to complete: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality
Index (PSQI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and the Beck Anxiety
Inventory (BAI).
If they are in doubt about how to answer a question, they can contact the
researcher or YNiC for further clarification. The researcher / YNiC staff
may ask necessary additional questions as part of this process.
Hi Everyone,
Please see below for information regarding our regularly scheduled training
sessions and opportunities to present your work in the autumn term.
*YNiC User Inductions*
If you are aware of any new students/staff that will require access to YNiC
and/or an IT account, they must attend a YNiC user induction. * Our next
induction will be Wednesday the 3th of August, at 10:30.* Please ask them
to contact support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk to sign up.
*Level 0 operator training:*
The* next L0 training session will be held on Thursday the 4th of August,
13:00-15:00*. Please note that users requesting Level 0 training should be
a PhD, RA/Postdoc, or staff, and should already have a project proposal
submitted to YNiC. Please email support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk if you have any
questions or wish to book on to this session. *Please note that sessions
are limited to 4 trainees, which will be allocated on a first-come
first-served basis. Training must be booked at least a week before the
session date, in order to reserve the scanner booking.*
*YNiC seminar*
We will continue the seminar series in the autumn term after a short summer
hiatus. If you are interested in giving a Thursday afternoon seminar to
share your work, please get in touch at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk.
Cheers,
Rich
--
Dr Richard Aveyard
Senior Research Technician
York NeuroImaging Centre
University of York, UK
Hi all
Today we have a presentation at *4pm* in YNiC Open Plan from *Rebecca
Lowndes*, titled "*Functional Imaging of Chromatic Vision*".
Pizza and refreshments will be provided for those attending in person.
You can also watch the talk via Zoom if you are unable to attend (Zoom
meeting details: https://york-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/91726652237
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://york-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/91726652237&sa=D&…>
Meeting ID: 917 2665 2237, Password: YO10).
We hope to see you later!
Cheers
Lauren
--
Lauren Welbourne, PhD
Senior Research Technician
lauren.welbourne(a)york.ac.uk
*Working Days: Thursday and Friday*
Please contact support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk if you need a response outside of my
working days.
York Neuroimaging Centre
University of York
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5NY
