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Status of MEG scanning at YNiC
by Andre Gouws 07 Apr '21

07 Apr '21

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

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Resuming scanning at YNiC
by Andre Gouws 12 Mar '21

12 Mar '21

** *(apologies for cross posting on ynic-users and all@psych)* * Hi all, We have (again) been working in the background to get the procedures and environment at YNiC optimized to allow us to return to safe and effective data collection. We had few weeks of practice of running Covid -safe research scanning in Oct/Nov 2020, prior to the current lockdown, and have refined things further. Although we are all aware things could change, we are working optimistically to the scheduled changes in national lockdown. We want to be as ready as we can be to start collecting data from April 12th to coincide with the proposed “Step 2” relaxation of lockdown rules that will allow us to scan colleagues, students and members of the general public again. Over the next 4 weeks at YNiC we will dedicate most of our resources to 1. Facilitate site visits to YNiC by researchers to see how things are going to work 2. Assisting existing projects to be technically set up so that they are ready to book and start testing from April 12th 3. Training / renewing training of operators to assist YNiC operators during scanning or even scan independently. *What do we need from you? *- each lab should email us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk <mailto:support@ynic.york.ac.uk>and let us know * what projects you have that are ready to run (or continue running from before) * which scanner you need * what your training requirements are - for MRI, at least one of your team members who is routinely coming to the center during scanning should be a level 0 for example Please bear in mind that we will be running masters projects this year also (as things stand) so the period of April through July will see particularly high demand on staff to run the scanners. Also note that use of YNiC computing services will remain remote for now, and access (other than when scanning) is limited to staff who have allocated workspace at YNiC. Thank you all for your help and patience. We look forward to seeing you all soon! * -- 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

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Research scanning at YNiC
by Andre Gouws 15 Jan '21

15 Jan '21

Hi all, We have had many queries about current and planned arrangements for scanning at YNiC. The short answer therefore to anyone asking this question is: There are no absolute answers at the moment but we are working on it. I'm sure you will all be aware that putting policies and procedures in place with the seemingly ever-changing guidance and restrictions is challenging. We would love to be able to facilitate safe, legal and socially responsible use of the facilities, but it is difficult and we are taking advice and collaborating with other sites and to agree best practices. So please bear with us - I will update you as soon as we have more information. Best wishes and hope to see you all soon, -- André ************************************************************************ André Gouws PhD Operations Manager - York Neuroimaging Centre CQC Registered Manager - York Diagnostic Imaging University of York The Biocentre York Science Park Heslington YO10 5NY Tel: +44 (0) 1904 435327 Fax: +44 (0) 1904 435356

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Update on mask policy
by Rebecca Lowndes 09 Dec '20

09 Dec '20

Hello all, Following recent guidance, we are no longer recommending that participants wear a mask whilst they are being scanned. The steps regarding masks are now as follows: Please ask them to replace their mask with an MRI safe mask of ours at the door as usual. When they are settled into the head coil (but without padding or the front part in place) sanitize your hands and ask them to remove their mask. Place their mask in the yellow square on the workbench. Sanitize your hands again. When removing the participant, sanitize your hands and give them back the mask. Sanitize your hands again. Ensure you thoroughly clean the yellow square area the mask was in. Thank you all for being flexible and understanding as guidelines and advice are ever changing. The YNiC team -- Rebecca Lowndes Research Technician York Neuroimaging Centre

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This Week at YNiC
by Lauren Welbourne 02 Dec '20

02 Dec '20

Hi everyone Just a couple of things we wanted to let you know about this week. *Scanner Update* Firstly, the team has been working hard with YNiC users to get the Siemens scanner back in use, and we are happy to report that the allocated scanning slots are being booked up, and we are working at capacity operating the scanner and re-certifying YNiC users as operators. We are now looking at how we can provide access to the GE scanner for those that wish to use it, as well as working towards future use of MEG. *Closure* You may be aware that the University has extended the Christmas break, so the University will be closed from *Friday 18th December until Monday 4th January*. YNiC will therefore also be closed during this period. Remote Access will remain online but there will be no user support over this period. We anticipate a need for two days of downtime on the YNiC Remote Access system for maintenance, around the same time as the University closure. We will keep you informed when we know which days this will happen. I hope you are all doing well, and hope you are able to enjoy a relaxing festive season (however that may look this year!). All the best, Lauren -- Lauren Welbourne, PhD Senior Research Technician lauren.welbourne(a)york.ac.uk York Neuroimaging Centre University of York Innovation Way Heslington York YO10 5NY

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An update on research scanning at YNiC
by Andre Gouws 19 Nov '20

19 Nov '20

Hi, (apologies for cross posting on ynic-users and psych lists) We'd like to update you on the current University guidelines on research scanning, the restrictions we have, and what we have put in place to keep everyone as COVID-safe as possible. Lauren Welbourne has put together the following summary for all of us: Under current Government, University, and Departmental guidelines, we are able to resume MRI research scanning at YNiC under our new COVID procedure. However, during the current National lockdown we are only permitted to scan participants that are either University staff or students - you cannot scan anyone who is not part of the University. Due to a number of staff organizational changes at YNiC (and the challenges we are all facing at the moment) we are limited in the amount of operator scanning hours we can provide to users. Therefore, we are investing a large proportion of our timetabled scanning hours into helping research groups complete (or renew) their operator training, to enable groups to scan at more flexible hours without the need for YNiC operators. The benefits of this are not only that research groups will have the flexibility to scan outside of operator-covered scanning slots, but this also protects ongoing research at YNiC - should any member of staff be required to isolate (which may cease all operator-covered scanning temporarily) research groups that are already operator trained will be able to continue scanning safely. We have put together a detailed and thorough COVID protocol, and all researchers that wish to resume scanning will be required to undergo training on this protocol. This also covers what information you must communicate with your participant - we have produced a document which the participant must sign in order to take part in a YNiC research scan, which ensures that the participant understands their responsibilities, and also reassures them of what our responsibilities are to them and the procedures we have put in place. Our goal is to resume research scanning whilst keeping our staff, researchers, and participants as safe as possible. Until we are satisfied with the timings and requirements of each research group, operator-covered slots will last two hours, which includes the time required for cleaning between each participant - only one participant will be permitted in the centre at any time. These scanning slots will be identifiable on the PTS booking system as operator-covered slots that last 1hour 45minutes. At present, on Tuesdays and Thursdays YNiC will provide 2 operators for each scanning slot (i.e. the researcher does not need to have any operator training), whereas on Wednesdays and Fridays only 1 YNiC operator will be provided - these slots are intended for researchers that intend on renewing their operator training, or who have one qualified operator and so require YNiC to provide the second operator for the scanning session. Following feedback from research groups that are ready to resume scanning, the operator-cover we provide will only be for the Siemens scanner. However, we will regularly review the scanning allocations, and adjust as necessary, including introducing scanning/training hours on the MEG and GE scanners when possible. I appreciate that this is a large amount of information to digest, but we encourage anyone who is hoping to resume/begin scanning to get in touch with us at support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk where we can assist you further and get you ready to scan. Lastly, we are planning to have a period of training in December (out of term) so that labs can get themselves equipped to run more independently and flexibly when (hopefully) services resume in the new year. Details will follow in a separate email. Best wishes, -- André ************************************************************************ André Gouws PhD Oparations 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

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This Week at YNiC
by Lauren Welbourne 11 Nov '20

11 Nov '20

Hi everyone I hope you are all doing well? Since it has been awhile since we last gave a YNiC update, I just wanted to let you all know that we are still here and continuing to maintain YNiC. Remote access has been running smoothly for the majority of users, but as ever, if you do experience any issues please let us know either in the Discuss Remote Desktop Channel ( https://www.ynic.york.ac.uk/discuss/everyone/channels/remote-desktop), or by sending us a ticket to support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk. Mac OS users should be aware that we now have a YNiC-compatible version of the X2Go Client, which is supported from OS 10.15. Information and instructions for using this client can be found on the YNiC wiki here: https://www.ynic.york.ac.uk/docs/ITPages/RemoteDesktop. We will send a separate email this week which details the current situation for research scanning, so please look out for that if you are interested in resuming research, or taking part in research, at YNiC. Take care and all the best, Lauren -- Lauren Welbourne, PhD Senior Research Technician lauren.welbourne(a)york.ac.uk York Neuroimaging Centre University of York Innovation Way Heslington York YO10 5NY

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Resumption of scanning at YNiC: making a start
by Andre Gouws 14 Oct '20

14 Oct '20

** *[Apologies for cross posting on all@pscyh and ynic-users]* * Dear budding *and experienced *neuroimagers, Your colleagues based here in YNiC have worked tirelessly over several months to maintain services, and in the planning of resuming others. This means that alongside the successful implementation of remote data analysis and teaching services, we are now in a position to start allowing access for face-to-face testing at YNiC. Initially our focus will be on the resumption of MRI scanning, but we are working with the help of numerous colleagues in the department to hopefully allow access to MEG and TMS soon. I'm sure you will appreciate that there are not only administrative barriers to overcome, but also practical ones including training of users of the centre to ensure that services are resumed safely and in accordance with covid-19 guidelines and protocols. We thank you for your patience. Access to MRI scanning: making a start Initially we will focus on delivering safe MRI scanning by using only YNiC core staff as MRI operators. We are currently focusing on making sure that our core staff MRI operators are up to speed and comfortable with the procedures. We hope to have all their training and certification in place by Wednesday the 21st of October. Once we have a better handle on how operating safely is going, we hope to be able to roll out the additional training and certification to currently qualified YNiC MRI operators. We would like to invite investigators who have an immediate interest in resuming MRI scanning to visit, by appointment only, the centre on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October (next week). This may seem counter-intuitive in light of social distancing guidelines but we think it is important for people to attend the centre first-hand to see what the practical limitations of operating the scanner, participant preparation and operation of stimulus equipment will be. We will advise on additional screening forms that need to be completed and procedures that need to be carried out. We do not mind doing multiple “tours” for larger labs as we will need to restrict the number of investigators per appointment to two persons. Please email support(a)ynic.york.ac.uk <mailto:suppport@ynic.york.ac.uk>to schedule an appointment. Off the back of these visits on 22/23 October,we hope to be able to book investigators in for a scanning session from the week commencing Mon 26th of October - it may be best to think of this as a “pilot” session initially. This will allow us all to get a better understanding of what the limitations are likely to be and help us all get set up for increased volumes of scanning later in the term. NOTE THAT IN ADDITION TO THE YNIC FORMS, THERE IS A SEPARATE FACE TO FACE TESTING RISK REGISTER / ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT PROVIDED BY PSYCHOLOGY THAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED BY INVESTIGATORS AND SIGNED OFF BY THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT BEFORE SCANNING AT YNIC CAN RESUME. Lisa Henderson should be able to advise and point you to the current version of this document. I am sure you are all keen to get scanning, but I must make an appeal to all users. Although it may seem that we are offering relatively few operator hours in initial weeks please bear with us as we build the service back up. Many of you will know that there have been significant changes in the staffing at YNiC and that means that we are still finding our feet and balancing the resources to help you as best we can. Please remember that there is still a huge amount of effort going on behind the scenes to support non-scanning activity. Finally - a phenomenal amount of work has been put into planning resumption of scanning activities at YNiC and I want to thank you all for helping us to get going again - a special mention must be given to Tony Morland who heroically spent the last months of his term as director of YNiC doing the lion’s share of the crucial (but grueling) administrative and H&S work that underpins the resumption of services. We look forward to welcoming you all back into the centre, in a safe and incremental way. Best wishes, * -- André ************************************************************************ André Gouws PhD Manager of Imaging Services 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

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YNiC Reminder - IT upgrades w/c 14th
by Lauren Welbourne 17 Sep '20

17 Sep '20

Hi everyone Please be reminded that there will be some disruption to remote access while IT upgrades are performed next week, starting from *Monday 14th September*. Users will be informed when the works are complete, but disruptions to access should be anticipated during this period (particularly at the start of the week). Please make sure any processes are completed and saved before this time to avoid any issues. YNiC open plan will also remain closed to users during the upgrades (which, under the current University guidelines, does not present a change to our current policy of access to the centre). I hope you are all safe and well, Kind regards Lauren -- Lauren Welbourne, PhD Senior Research Technician lauren.welbourne(a)york.ac.uk York Neuroimaging Centre University of York Innovation Way Heslington York YO10 5NY

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This Week at YNiC
by Lauren Welbourne 25 Aug '20

25 Aug '20

Good afternoon everyone, Just a brief email today to remind you of our upcoming closure/limited support periods, starting from Monday: *Reduced Support Period* Between 31st August and 13th September a number of YNiC staff will be taking some time for annual leave, and so if you have any support queries during this time please anticipate a longer wait for a response - we will still get back to you as soon as we can during that period. *IT Upgrades* In the week commencing *14th September* there will be some disruption to remote access while IT upgrades are performed. Users will be kept informed nearer the time, but disruptions to access should be anticipated during this period. Please note that YNiC open plan will also remain closed to users during the upgrades (which, under the current University guidelines, does not present a change to our current policy of access to the centre). I hope you all have a good week! Take care, Lauren -- Lauren Welbourne, PhD Senior Research Technician lauren.welbourne(a)york.ac.uk York Neuroimaging Centre University of York Innovation Way Heslington York YO10 5NY

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