From tuckx007 at umn.edu Tue Dec 4 14:35:14 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 04 Dec 2007 14:35:14 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] Headphone Marker at 3T Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, The contrast marker on the headphones at the 3T has be repositioned. It has been moved slightly higher up on the right side of the headphones to limit wrapping artifact. If for some reason you do not wish to have the positioning marker on the headphones feel free to remove the marker along with the piece of Velcro it is attached to. By just pulling on the marker it destroys the adhesive and Velcro making the spot unusable, so please don't simply rip it off. Please let me know if anyone has any questions about this. Thanks, Casey From bryon at cmrr.umn.edu Fri Dec 7 09:35:29 2007 From: bryon at cmrr.umn.edu (Bryon Mueller) Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:35:29 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] problems on the 3T Message-ID: <47596841.5040706@cmrr.umn.edu> Hi, Over the past week or so, we have been seeing stability issues with the 3T. The most obvious problem has been a ghosting, both in FMRI scans but particularly in turbo spin echo scans. The problem can look like subject motion (particularly in the TSE), and the problem seems to be intermittent. The Siemens service engineer has been called in on several occasions to try to diagnose the problem, and finally found a part that is failing last night. The part is on order. I am not sure when the part will arrive and be installed, however (hopefully today). In the mean time, the scanner is usable, but your FMRI data might have more N/2 ghosting than usual, your PD might seem to have a lot of motion, and other scans might also be affected. We will let you know once the parts are installed and the scanner is tested. Best, Bryon From bryon at cmrr.umn.edu Fri Dec 7 16:48:21 2007 From: bryon at cmrr.umn.edu (Bryon Mueller) Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:48:21 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] 3T update Message-ID: <4759CDB5.2030701@cmrr.umn.edu> All, The service engineer won't be able to replace the defective part until Tuesday afternoon. We will update you on the status of the scanner after the repair is completed and we have run some tests. Bryon From tuckx007 at umn.edu Tue Dec 11 17:00:02 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 11 Dec 2007 17:00:02 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] 3T is Back to Normal Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, Over the past week some researchers were noticing excessive ghosting in fMRI sequences. The Siemens service engineer was in today to replace a receiver board and tune-up the system. I have run several tests and am unable to reproduce the ghosting, and the images have all looked clean. As always remember to check any data that you acquire and let me know if you notice anything unusual. Thanks, Casey From 3tf-list at cmrr.umn.edu Sun Dec 16 21:02:57 2007 From: 3tf-list at cmrr.umn.edu (VIAGRA ® Official Site) Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:02:57 -0600 (CST) Subject: [3tf-list] Lovers package at discount price! Message-ID: <20071216050308.80873.qmail@peter-6808a8f4c> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.cmrr.umn.edu/pipermail/3tf-list/attachments/20071216/ad2a031b/attachment-0001.html From tuckx007 at umn.edu Mon Dec 17 12:40:18 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 17 Dec 2007 12:40:18 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] Intermittent Spiking at 3T Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, Over the weekend some researchers collected some fMRI data with a considerable amount of spiking in the images. This is different from the ghosting problems we saw last week, and we are in the process of tracking the changes. Siemens has been called and will have a service engineer in later today to look at the problem. The scanner is still working and the spiking seems to be a transient issue, showing up in the first few volumes, and then lessening, and even disappearing after a couple scans. As always remember to check your data and report anything that looks irregular. I will inform you all as we work to fix this issue. Thanks, Casey From bryon at cmrr.umn.edu Mon Dec 17 23:16:00 2007 From: bryon at cmrr.umn.edu (Bryon Mueller) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 23:16:00 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] Intermittent Spiking at 3T In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <47675790.30103@cmrr.umn.edu> I spent the evening working with the service engineer, trying to find and correct the source of the spiking on the scanner. We found several possible sources (loose wires, metal pieces that could vibrate, etc), but unfortunately, although we tore the scanner apart, we were not able to completely fix the problem. The service engineer has set up a series of tests that will run over night. I will review them tomorrow morning, and hopefully some test will fail. At the moment, however, the spiking I am seeing in our FMRI is below the level that the Siemens spike check actually detects.. In the mean time, the scanner can still be used but there is a pretty good chance that FMRI and DTI data will have intermittent spiking problems in the background. Looking over recently collected FMRI data, I see that the problem has been around since at least Wednesday (12/12), although the problem wasn't brought to my attention until Saturday. We may need to cancel studies to further trouble shoot this problem if we come up with good ideas to test, but at the moment we don't know what is causing this problem. Bryon tuckx007 at umn.edu wrote: > Hello 3T Users, > > Over the weekend some researchers collected some fMRI data with a > considerable amount of spiking in the images. This is different from the > ghosting problems we saw last week, and we are in the process of tracking > the changes. Siemens has been called and will have a service engineer in > later today to look at the problem. > > The scanner is still working and the spiking seems to be a transient issue, > showing up in the first few volumes, and then lessening, and even > disappearing after a couple scans. As always remember to check your data > and report anything that looks irregular. > > I will inform you all as we work to fix this issue. > > Thanks, > Casey > _______________________________________________ > 3TF-list mailing list > 3TF-list at cmrr.umn.edu > http://www.cmrr.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/3tf-list > From tuckx007 at umn.edu Tue Dec 18 15:24:00 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 18 Dec 2007 15:24:00 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] Problems at 3T Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, I have run several tests today to try and determine the cause of the intermittent spiking seen in fMRI and DTI at the 3T. I have talked Siemens into replacing the new receiver board we had installed last week, since it was put in around the same time this spiking problem seems to have began. A service engineer will be in tommorrow morning to install the board and tune-up the system. Structural scans still seem to be alright, and the problem certainly comes and goes. Please plan your experiments accordingly as we try and fix this problem, and if you do collect any data look very closely to make sure it is usable. Let me know if anyone has any questions. I will let you know more after the board is installed. Thanks, Casey From tuckx007 at umn.edu Wed Dec 19 16:17:52 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 19 Dec 2007 16:17:52 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] 3T is Down Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, After working with Siemens through the day to remedy the intermittent spiking, we have not been able to diagnose the cause. The magnet will be down for the rest of today and tonight. At this point it is likely the magnet will continue to be down through the day tomorrow. If you have scans schedule over the next couple of days please plan accordingly.Let me know if you have any questions regarding this. I understand this is a busy time of the year, and realize how inconvenient it is to cancel studies and have to reschedule subjects. Still rescheduling is ultimately better than collecting data with a large amount of spiking making it unusable. We will continue to work on this issue, and I will update all of you as I know more. Thanks for your understanding, Casey From bryon at cmrr.umn.edu Thu Dec 20 07:39:27 2007 From: bryon at cmrr.umn.edu (Bryon Mueller) Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:39:27 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] spikes remain during fMRI Message-ID: <476A708F.5070302@cmrr.umn.edu> Siemens service worked on the scanner until 11pm last night, but were not able to track down the spiking problems. They will be in at 10am this morning to continue working on the scanner. Studies scheduled this morning will therefore need to be canceled, and we will continue to cancel studies that occur when Siemens is able to work on the problem until the problem is solved. Alas, it is difficult to estimate when the problem might be solved since we have no idea what is causing the spiking. As always, sorry for the inconvenience. Bryon From tuckx007 at umn.edu Thu Dec 20 17:34:15 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 20 Dec 2007 17:34:15 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] 3T is Still Down Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, The 3T is currently still down. We have been working with the Siemens engineers for sometime and have still not been able to diagnose the cause of the spiking. More new parts have been ordered and will be installed tomorrow as we continue to try and fix the problem. All scans scheduled for tomorrow will be canceled. I will keep you all informed as I know more. Erring on the side of optimism, the service engineer and I are in agreement that we have to be getting close. Thanks, Casey From tuckx007 at umn.edu Fri Dec 21 09:19:41 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 21 Dec 2007 09:19:41 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] 3T Still Down Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, I spoke with the service engineer who was in until 12:15AM last night, and we have still not been able to fix the spiking. More parts have been ordered and will be installed this morning. While we have not identified the cause, we have eliminated many possible sources. I will keep you all updated as the service continues. Thanks for your patience. Casey From tuckx007 at umn.edu Fri Dec 21 16:40:40 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 21 Dec 2007 16:40:40 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] 3T is Still Spiking Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, The 3T remains down. Siemens has continued working on the system today and still have not been able to fix the problem. They will work into the night but will not be here on the weekend. The scanner will be operational, however there might be significant spiking in any data that is collected. Siemens will be back in on Monday to continue their work on the scanner at 11:00AM. Happy Holidays to everyone! And I will as always keep you informed as I know more. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Casey From tuckx007 at umn.edu Thu Dec 27 10:26:23 2007 From: tuckx007 at umn.edu (tuckx007 at umn.edu) Date: 27 Dec 2007 10:26:23 -0600 Subject: [3tf-list] Neudrei Down Message-ID: Hello 3T Users, Neudrei went down sometime between last night and this morning. The computer seems to be unresponsive, and will not turn on. Unfortunately with the holiday schedule it will not be repaired until some folks return. Any researchers needing to use neudrei for stimulus presentation will be unable to do so. The mac is still working for e-mail, magnet calendar and the like. Let me know if you have any questions regarding this matter. To clarify, neudrei is the computer to the right of the scan console computer. Thanks, Casey