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General information
About the Spinoza wiki
This site provides technical and procedural information for the Spinoza Centre community.
All users are invited to contribute their knowledge by editing content here. Obviously, it is important that you verify the accuracy of any information that you post.
Some parts of the wiki are only accessible by logging in (indicated with a "*"). You can login using your Spinoza account, if you don't have one please request the login information by sending an email to [email protected].
About the Spinoza Centre
The Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging supports fundamental and clinical research programs in the fields of neuroscience and cognition but also facilitates academic and industrial research programs in areas other than the brain. The Centre houses a variety of techniques designed to visualize and study the brain. Central to the infrastructure are the 3 Tesla and 7 Tesla human Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanners (MRI). Ultra-high field MRI (≥ 7 Tesla) allows human brain function, structure and metabolism to be visualized at unprecedented detail.
The peripheral equipment installed at the scanners includes material for visual, auditory and sensory stimulation, eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings, all of which can be performed simultaneously with the MRI acquisitions. Several testing rooms are available in the suite to help people who are collecting surveys, patient briefing or for obtaining behavioural and EEG measures. This allows for a wide range of possible experimental manipulation and physiological measurements to complement the MRI data.
In addition to the MRI equipment the Spinoza Centre houses a 'mock' MRI scanner for training humans, and several groups share their setups for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) with the facility.
The facilities
How to get to Spinoza via public transportation or car.
Of Spinoza and when support staff are present.
How to get into the building and reach the facilities.
These include research equipment but also desks, internet and meeting room.
Please help us maintain a safe and productive environment for everyone.
What is that button for?
Contact information
How to contact Spinoza staff.
How to join general communication lists of Spinoza.
Weekly presentations of staff, partners and other scientists about their research. Every Tuesday from 16:00-17:00, everyone is welcome!
How to get support for your questions.
Spinoza Centre Logos. Strictly speaking this has nothing to do with contact information but may be useful for some.
Starting a new project
Below please find the information you need, if you would like to start a new MRI project at Spinoza. This information is primarily intended for researchers who are new to Spinoza. You typically only have to go through these procedures once.
Starting to use the facilities
Checklist on how to start a project at Spinoza. These include compulsory actions that are required far in advance and just prior to scanning.
Training and safety
MR training and certification*
Prior to using the MR facilities please follow the MR safety training. If you want perform the scanning yourself, you need to be trained as an MR operator.
Instructions on safety and evacuation training.
If you want to start already you may enlist help of those who are already trained.
How to use the metal detectors at Spinoza.
Basic procedures
Below please find the basic procedures most MRI scientists will encounter sooner or later during their project.
Participant procedures
Participant recruitment (Sona)
How to use of the Spinoza Sona participant registration system to recruit participants for your study.
How to use our incidental finding protocol (if this was also so specified in your ethical approval).
Some notes on public data sharing which is part of the open science movement.
Sharing data with participants*
Some notes on how to deal with participants asking for their data.
Basic MRI procedures
Hourly billing rate and contacts for applying for (free) partner hours.
Booking the scanner and cancellation policy
Well... just that. How to book and how to cancel scanner time.
About developing new protocols and trying out new things (and not necessarily getting billed ☺ ).
Set of guidelines for MRI data-analyses, strongly recommended by Spinoza staff.
Exporting PAR/REC data from the scanner
How to export your data from the scanner and send it to the server.
Conventions for consistent naming of your acquisitions
How to name your acquisitions to facilitate automatic conversion and BIDS-ification.
Getting data of the scanner through the FlyWheel platform - DEPRECATED*
Our old way of getting the data from the scanner and a variety of other things, not used as of Januari 1st 2023.
When data is deleted from the scanners.
Tried and tested sequences easily adaptable to your needs.
Advanced procedures and troubleshooting
Here we gather information for the adventurous MRI scientist using peripheral equipment and the most advanced procedures. This section also contains usage and troubleshooting information for the MRI scientists and MR operators.
Peripheral MRI equipment
How to control your stimulus from outside the scanner.
MRI compatible LCD screen (BOLDscreen)
How to use the screen in the scanner.
MRI compatible button boxes (fORP)
How to use the response buttons in the the scanner.
MRI compatible audio system (MRConfon)
How to use the audio setup in the scanner.
How to track the participants eye-movements in the scanner.
Auxilliary EMG, ECG and GSR recordings (BrainAmp)
How to record EMG, ECG and GSR in the scanner. (under development)
How to record EEG in the scanner.
How to use the electrical stimulator in the scanner.
How to measure various physiological measures in the scanner, such as heart rate and respiration.
Advanced MRI procedures
Common warnings and error messages*
List of most common warnings and error messages both on 3T and 7T.
Well... just that. How to patch the 3T.
Documentation on 7T MRI procedures.
How to move the BOLD screen in the 7T setup.
List of available coils on the 7T.
List of available phantoms for the 7T.
How to run and evaluate the QA on the 7T.
BIDS, distortion correction, MP2RAGE(ME) etc.
How to send dicoms to the AMC from the Spinoza Linux cluster command line.