Using the University of Manchester's Imaging Facilities
Access to the University's imaging facilities is by way of the Imaging Facilitates Application Form (Word, 164KB), which should be completed and submitted to one of the Research Project Managers, along with a full study protocol. This will require you to first obtain from one of the Project Managers a costing for the proposed scan procedures. It is also often worth discussing your project with academic and operational staff based at the imaging facililties at an early stage, as their specialist methodological input can enhance the protocol and scientific value of the project.
Note: the staff and resources of the imaging facilities can not be committed to any project without prior approval of the relevant committee (see below). You are therefore strongly advised to make your application to the imaging facilities well before any application for funding.
Once an application has been submitted, it will be reviewed by a member of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility Operational Executive (MRIF OE) or WMIC Operational Committee (OC) respectively; feedback will be provided to the PI and study team as necessary and once the imaging protocol has been finalised, the application will be presented for approval. Once approval is given, and all the regulatory paperwork is in place, scanning can commence the Research Project Manager will be able to guide you through this process and give support where necessary. The regulatory paperwork required will vary depending on the type of study being undertaken and the imaging modality involved; a general guide is available below (for multimodality projects one version of each can be completed including information for both types of scanning):
| University Approvals | Where applicable |
|---|---|
| Joint Imaging Facilities Application form | This must be submitted BEFORE funding or ethics are sought |
| Protocol | A full and details protocol must be submitted with the application form |
| MRIF Grant application form | Help can be sought towards MRI costs by way of a MRIF Grant |
| University of Manchester Senate Ethics Approval and Insurance |
Required for all studies where University staff are involved. For studies undertaking fMRI, structrual scans and DWI using normal participants (healthy volunteers) being scanned on the WMIC 1.5T MRI scanner can go through UMEC as long as there are no medical procedures (example e.g., injections, contrast etc) and there's a procedure for reading and dealing with unexpected findings on scans that can be read for clinical purposes (e.g., T1). |
| PANMAN | For recording all new University research projects and confirming School approval |
| Honorary Contract | For any NHS employees wanting to use University facilities or supervising University research students |
| National Research Ethics Committee Approval | For all projects using NHS premises, patients, staff or facilities |
| Research Passport for NHS Trust sites | For all University members of staff or students wanting to use NHS facilities or patients |
| ARSAC Approval/License | For all studies where PET imaging is required; completed as part of the IRAS form |
| Clinical Trials Authorisation for clinical trials | Required for all studies which are deemed to be clinical trials |
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