Information for Users | fMRI Lab

Researchers or administrators submitting a proposal for federal or non-federal funding of scanning hours at our facility should include the following information on their Proposal Approval Form (PAF).

• Attach a detailed budget and justification to the "Proposal Documents" section of the PAF
  • Use the current hourly rates.
  • Inflate the hourly rate by 3% per year in subsequent years
  • Budget justification should detail the number of proposed scan hours, the hourly scan rate used and indicate that scanning will be done at the Functional MRI Laboratory
• Include a subaccount for the scan hours in the "Budget" section of the PAF.
  • In the notes section of sub-account, include the number of scan hours proposed
• Include all four rooms below in the "General Space" section of the PAF:
  • Inside Scanner
    • Bonisteel Interdisciplinary Research Building Rooms 1089, 1097
    • Use Dept. ID 210600 to search for rooms 1089 and 1097
    • Override the Dept ID to 550200, the occupying department
  • Modular Unit
    • Bonisteel Interdisciplinary Research Building Rooms 1000,1001
    • Use Dept. ID 301000 to search for rooms 1000 and 1001
    • Over-ride the Dept ID to 550200, the occupying department
• Include our facility/resources and equipment (word, pdf) document in your proposal submission

fMRI User Form

Create a new user form

Click on the link above to create a new user form.

• You will receive a confirmation email notifying you that the user form was received.
• fMRI Administration will assign a nickname to your study and you will receive an email with this nickname.

Upload Documents

Upload IRB approval and consent forms for studies. Please include the study nickname and PI last name in the document file names.

It is our policy that studies using federal or non-federal funds to pay for their scan hours set-up a sub-account of their grant to pay for their scan costs. This sub-account should be established before scheduling scan time.

Questions on how to establish a sub-account may be directed to the Administrator.

By creating a sub-account for your scan costs at the Functional MRI Laboratory, we receive the indirect costs associated with these scan costs. These indirect costs are used to pay for utilities, building maintenance, and other such costs.

Note: The only exceptions to this policy are grants with an indirect cost rate of less than 22%.

Scanning Appointment Procedure is as Follows:

Each month the Senior Scanning Technologist will email our users and solicit requests for scanning time at our facility.

Studies are asked to include the following information in their requests (use the form here):

• Study nickname (assigned when a user form is completed)
• Number of appointments / hours required
• Days / Dates / Times requested
• Alternate Days / Dates / Times if first choice not available

Scheduled dates/times will be posted to our calendar. [Note:  A new accessible calendar format will need to be linked to. Google calendars do not work with screen readers.]

It is the study coordinator's responsibility to review the calendar and note the dates/times their study is scheduled for that month.

To join the users email group ([email protected]), please contact the Administrator.

Scanning Appointment Policies:

• Scan times are scheduled every month and posted to the calendar.
• Investigators may only schedule a maximum of 16 hours per week and 32 hours per month.
• Investigators are expected to verify subject attendance at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled scan time for weekday scans and 48 hours in advance for weekend scans.

Canceling a Scanning Appointment:

• If a subject is unable to attend, users are expected to advertise their cancellation to the user email group ([email protected]) at least 24 hours in advance for weekday scans and 48 hours in advance for weekend scans. Please include a simple note explaining the reason for cancellation.

Using a Cancelled Timeslot:

• Studies seeking to use a cancelled timeslot should contact the Scanning Technologists or the Technical Director to use this timeslot

Cancellation Fees:

• In the next few months we will start charging cancellation fees when the researcher or research assistant does not attend a scheduled timeslot, without prior notification.
• We do not currently charge for other cancellations; however, this is under review.

All use of room 1104 should be scheduled.

Rooms Available

There are two rooms available for testing and training:

• 1077A (has interview space, a computer for pre-and post-testing, and is available for blood draws)
• 1104 (has interview space and is available for blood draws)

Scheduling Policies & Priority

• Scheduling room 1077A is not required.
• Use of room 1104 should be scheduled.
• It is the study coordinator's responsibility to schedule time in Room 1104.
• Scheduled time will always take priority over unplanned use.

Scheduling Procedures

• Send your request to: [email protected]

• Include the following information in the request:

  Study nickname
  Day
  Date
  Start time
  End time
  Purpose(s): i.e. interview, blood draw

• A confirmation email will be sent to the requester

Managing Scheduling Conflicts

• If ever a study needs to use a room and 1077A and 1104 are unavailable, we will do our best to provide an alternate location for your use

Clean-up Responsibility

• It is expected that studies using our space will clean up after themselves, including disposing of sharps and other biologically contaminated materials appropriately.
• Should bodily fluids be accidentally spilled, it is expected that study coordinators will notify fMRI management as soon as possible so the affected area can be disinfected appropriately.

Visit Calendars.

Investigators using blanket IRB approval should refer to the following documents:

HSBS guidance for Routine fMRI

Blanket fMRI Laboratory Protocol

Routine Brain fMRI Protocol

Sample Application

Informed Consent

Informed Parent Consent

Assent (Children age 10-17)

Safety Questionnaire

Consent Template

Studies are expected to upload a revised IRB approval when the approval is renewed. Please visit the user form area, enter your study nickname, and edit the attached documents associated with your user form.

Recently, the Medical School Institutional Review Board (IRB-Med) instituted a new informed consent language regarding medical care for injuries for subjects.  Previously the consent form indicated that medical care would be provided, but not paid for, and this language has been revised to indicate that medical care would be provided AND who would pay for this care.

Recently, the Co-Directors of Functional MRI Laboratory had a detailed meeting with Lois Brako, Assistant VP for Research over Regulator Compliance and Oversight, and Samuel Silver, Assistant Dean for Research at the Medical School and who also oversees the relevant section dealing with Financial Information in the informed consent for the Medical School.

During this meeting Drs. Brako and Silver clarified that the requirement for this language can be removed for studies with essentially no risk (for example, routine or standard fMRI studies), since the chance of injury, and therefore the chance of payment for said injuries, is so small.

Non-standard studies, such as drug studies, are not considered standard fMRI studies and you may be required to indicate that medical care would be provided AND paid for.    If you are uncertain as to whether your consent form would be required to include this language, please contact Dr. Samuel Silver ([email protected], 764-2204).

When you contact him please specify:

• The IRB number (if available)
• The nature of the study
• The risks posed to the subject
• The source of funding for your project
• Whether you are a faculty member with a primary appointment at the Medical School

The IRB requires applications/renewals list information on the device to be used, including FDA numbers and device descriptions. Below is the information users should include with their applications:

MRI Machine, BIRB

• Device Type: 3T MRI Scanner
• Device Trade Name: GE MR750 3.0T With Discovery MR System
• FDA 510(K) Number: K081028
• Manufacturer / Supplier: General Electric
• CFR & Product Label for Device: Product Label, CFR Listing

MRI Machine, Modular Unit

• Device Type: 3T MRI Scanner
• Device Trade Name: GE MR750 3.0T With Discovery MR System
• FDA 510(K) Number: K081028
• Manufacturer / Supplier: General Electric
• CFR & Product Label for Device: Product Label, CFR Listing

BEU numbers for our equipment.

The fMRI Lab continually strives to keep costs down to ensure scan rates are held to a minimum. Unfortunately, inflationary pressures will require a substantial rate increase, from $561 to $620 per hour with an effective date of 4/16/2025.

Our hourly rate is determined by an annual audit by the Enterprise Financial Planning & Analysis office and is dependent on revenue and expenses.

When preparing grant proposal budgets, we advise you to budget $650 per hour as a reasonable estimate of future charges.

• Studies are charged only when subjects are in the scanner. Studies are charged in fifteen minute increments.
• Billing occurs monthly by Service Unit Billing.

Invoices are distributed to the investigator, study coordinator, and billing contact cited on the user form. Attached is a copy of an example invoice. Each invoice includes investigator name, study nickname, exam number, subject number, and hours of scanner use.

A study seeking to send billing invoices to additional individuals should contact the Administrator.

Studies that have a change in their billing information or IRB renewal should revise their user form. The investigator, study coordinator, or billing contact listed on the user form may log-in and submit changes to their user form.

Questions about uploading changes to billing information or IRB renewals should be directed to the Administrator.

To ensure that studies scanning at our Laboratory have sufficient funds to cover the costs of scans, a study/studies associated with a billing sub-account in deficit for more than two months may not be able to schedule additional scans until this deficit is resolved. A sub-account will be determined to be "in deficit" when : 

1) The expenses on the sub-account exceeds the budget allocated to the sub-account, or 

2) When aging receivable on the sub-account exceed 90 days, even in the case of a positive budget allocation on the sub-account.

Due to increased cancellation rates in recent years the Functional MRI Laboratory needs to implement a cancellation policy with penalties.

After approval by the Office of Financial Services, the following policy took effect January 1, 2023:

Studies will be charged for 1 hour of scanner time under the following conditions:

• Canceling less than 2 business days prior to their assigned slot time, due to recruitment (no subject scheduled).
• Canceling less than 2 business days prior to their assigned slot time, due to staffing conflicts (exceptions given for sickness).
• Study team no show at their assigned slot (with no cancellation or communication).

The rationale for the proposed late fee is driven by high study cancellation rates. For example, in September and October of 2022, 52% of the studies canceled, of which 55% were canceled less than 2 business days before the study. While some early cancellations may be filled by other studies, this is not typical. In our analysis, some of these cancellations resulted because the subject was sick, which is unpreventable. However, most of the cancellations were a direct result of the subject not being scheduled or not properly screened, and both situations are preventable.

For every scheduled slot, we have technologists scheduled; and not properly canceling a slot in time means other groups cannot use that time, leading to underutilization of both the MRI scanner and our staff. As good stewards of institutional resources, we believe these policies will result in more advance cancellation notifications which will enable more efficient utilization of resources and allow more groups to use available scanner slots.

We believe this practice will help decrease the number of late cancellations. We do not anticipate that this change will lead to substantially increased revenue, but rather will allow for better resource utilization and overall better service to the U-M research community.

Scanning Rehearsals

We require that all experiments be rehearsed once without the subject at least one day prior to the scheduled scan time. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all equipment is working properly and in concert with the MR scanner. There is no cost associated with this rehearsal.

Mock Scanner

A Mock Scanner is available for study coordinator training purposes in the basement of East Hall. There is no charge for using the scanner.

Investigator Screening

All investigators must be screened before entering the scanner room to ensure everyone's safety. Keep in mind that most accidents are caused by investigators, not subjects. New investigators will need to sign a safety screening questionnaire.

Preparing Your Subject

Study coordinators are expected to have obtained consent and trained their subjects by the time their scan is scheduled to start. This usually means having enough people so that you can test or train a subject while another is being scanned. Please visit our room scheduling section to schedule room(s) for testing or training.

Study coordinators should also prepare subjects for the scan in advance by providing our standard subject instructions.

Safety Screening Questionnaire

All individuals entering the scanner room must be screened before entering the scanner room to ensure safety. This includes subjects as well as investigators preparing for their experiments.

• Safety questionnaire for studies using the blanket fMRI consent
• Safety questionnaire all other studies

Here is a link to our safety questionnaire.

Retaining Consent Forms

Copies of consent forms will be retained for one month.

After this time, consent forms will be scanned and shredded.

Scanned copies will be retained for 7 years, in compliance with SPG 604.1.

Investigator Responsibility for Consent Forms

In compliance with Human Subject guidelines, it is the responsibility of the investigator to retain original copies of their subjects' consent forms.

Additional informed consent guildelines are available in the Human Subjects Module of the University's Program for Evaluation in Responsible Research and Scholarship (PEERRS).

Users are expected to transfer their data from our server in a timely manner. Data will be retained on our server for up to six months, so investigators are encourage to download their data as soon as it is available.

For security purposes, we have disabled 'telnet' and 'ftp' network protocols. Investigators should use 'ssh' and 'sftp' network protocols to access our server. These software programs are available for Windows platforms, at the website: http://www.tectia.com/en.iw3. (Note: when using sftp in Unix/Linux there is no 'mget *.img'. Instead you'd use get '*.img').

Raw data will be burned onto disk for archival purposes within two weeks of a scan. Users may request a copy of the disk, but this is discouraged due to the associated administrative cost.

Processing data is the responsibility of the user. Please see our Resources page for software we are happy to share with our users, as well as tips for processing data.

Help with Data Transfers

For assistance with transfer of your data please contact our Research Computer Specialist.

Help with Data Processing

For assistance with data processing, please contact our Technical Director.