2020-06-26 MRRC OPENING

June 26, 2020


Dear Colleagues,

The MRRC received approval to reopen yesterday. Thus we will be reopening for research scans Monday June 29 for Prisma 1, Prisma 2, and 7T. The mMR will reopen July 8. Monday June 29 is an Odd week per our fixed schedule. Prisma 3 completed its installation yesterday and passed final QA. We hope to open Prisma 3 for research scans towards the middle of next week. We are now installing the paradigm presentation equipment and will advise the community when this has been completed and we can open Prisma 3. Initial studies on Prisma 3 will be “dry” or “test” runs to confirm sequences and paradigm presentation since these are all new studies.

As we reopen I want to call everyone’s attention to our standard operating procedures which are quite different from what they used to be. Please read these instructions carefully and make sure that all of your research staff involved in MRI studies understand them fully. Our ability to remain open is a direct function of the extent to which we can all follow the new operating procedures.

I want to stress a couple of critical points from the new operations:

      1. All study staff WILL wear masks at all times.
      2. All subjects when not on the patient bed or in the magnet should be wearing a mask.
      3. All study staff and subjects need to wait outside of the MRRC until they are called by the technologist supervising their study. Our waiting room is closed in the initial start-up phase.
      4. To receive this call it is CRITICAL that the study staff provide the MRRC with the correct phone number for the RA or study staff responsible for escorting the subject to the MRRC. This phone number needs to be included when the subject’s information is entered on our schedule.
      5. The practice rooms are designated according to which system the study will be performed on and coordinated with that system’s schedule. They are only available by request through our schedule.
      6. A number of rooms previously used by MR users are closed in this initial phase of start-up. Please check with us before assuming that any support room is open.

I want to thank you in advance for your cooperation in keeping your colleagues, your subjects and our staff safe.


Please click on the image to download or view.





Hoby Hetherington