The CNI advisory board has approved a small modification to our scanner scheduling and fee structure. The modification will not affect most users.  We describe the reason for the adjustment and its implementation in this message.

Reason:  The scheduling modification is designed to allow users to reserve longer periods of time for complex scientific experiments involving, for example, post-mortem scans or equipment development scans (new coils).  It has been hard to accommodate this research during the normal periods of operation.  Based on historical usage patterns, we can make the instrument available for such projects on long holiday weekends without disrupting other users.

Policy: On the official University 3-day weekends in 2022 (Labor Day) and 2023 (Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, and Memorial Day) and extended closures (Thanksgiving and Winter Closure in 2022), we will allow investigators to book extended periods of time.  We will charge all of the scan hours on these long weekends and closures at the night time rate ($111, this coming fiscal year).  Here is a link to the University Holiday schedule.

All investigators interested in using these periods for very long scan blocks should reach out to CNI staff in advance of our normal 8-week scheduling window.  Please note that the intent of the change is not to enable a large consecutive block of time to scan multiple subjects, but rather to enable special types of research activities that require very long acquisitions.

The CNI advisory board will review this policy in advance of the FY24 period (September 1, 2023-August 31, 2024) to determine if it will continue.

Thank you,

The CNI Team