N3 Code of Conduct
- All studies should obtain prior approval from the N3 director before study commencement.
- A kick off meeting between the PI and N3 team is required unless explicitly waived by N3. During this meeting, the study protocol, facility usage, staffing requirements, and budget (including cost recovery) will be reviewed.
- When planning new projects and grant proposals that involve the use of N3 infrastructure, Letters of Support will be contingent on:
- Feasibility of the proposal
- Soundness of the budget (including provisions for cost recovery)
- Adequate staffing provisions
- Requests for Letters of Support must provide a minimum of 2 weeks turnaround time.
- N3 reserves the right to deny the usage of infrastructure in cases where proposal submissions were not received by N3, and/or a Letter of Support was not issued to the Principal Investigator requesting use of N3 resources.
- An annual authorization form will be sent to principal investigators conducting research using N3 infrastructure.
- Cost recovery for the use of N3 infrastructure will be determined on a per-use basis with an annual cap of $10,000 per project. The usage fees for equipment use (per 30mins) are as follows:
- Equipment Cost (per 30min booking):
TMS (MagStim) - $20
TMS (MagVenture) - $25
TMS Robot - $40
TMS-EEG - $40
tDCS - $5
Data acquisition + EMG systems - $10
- N3 PIs may request for free-of-charge usage of N3 infrastructure for up 10-hours for protocol development (for each new protocol).
- A 2 hour no-cost consultation with N3 scientists for protocol and methods development is available. Additional consultation or grant proposal contributions will be associated with a $100/hr cost-recovery.
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Training on N3 infrastructure and equipment is provided free of charge by N3 scientists for projects engaged in cost recovery. There are 4 Levels of training, with both access and responsibilities increasing with each Level.
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Any staff or trainee using N3 TMS facilities or tDCS device must complete at least Level 1 training, which covers the basic operation and safety protocols for TMS/tDCS devices.
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Staff or trainees responsible for running a TMS protocol must complete Level 2 TMS training, which includes hands-on demonstrations for determining resting motor threshold, MEP identification, TMS-navigation system, basic equipment setup, and trouble-shooting.
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The use of specialized N3 devices such as the TMS robot, HD-tDCS/Multichannel tES device or TMS-EEG systems requires advanced training (Level 3 & 4) specific to the technology prior to access.
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Annual maintenance of certification will be required for ongoing N3 resource use.
Booking
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All N3 equipment and infrastructure booking will now include a cost to book, and all bookings will be done using the FACES system (LINK).
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Cancellation policy:
- Sessions cancelled more than 24hrs prior to the booking time will not be charged.
- Sessions cancelled with less than 24hrs notice will be charged.
- NOTE: Bookings should accurately reflect the time needed for each session, including any set-up time needed prior to experiments, sanitation before and after participant contact, and time required to return the space to its space to its base state.
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To prevent monopolization of N3 infrastructure and equipment, individual projects will not exceed 25% of full-time usage (520hrs/year based on a 40hr week) for each room/item. Use of infrastructure/equipment in excess of this limit will be considered on a case-by-case basis by N3 leadership.
Facility maintenance/Equipment repair
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Users are responsible for returning N3 rooms to their original condition following use.
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All high-contact touch points must be sanitized before and after use, or between subjects if bookings involve multiple participants. This includes, but is not limited to: chairs, stimulators, pulse generators, coils, handles, neuronavigation subject tracker/glasses, and electrode leads.
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All users are expected to sign in and sign out of their session using the N3 log book in the room they have booked.
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N3 scientists should be contacted immediately in the case of any missing items, or damaged/malfunctioning equipment.
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If equipment is damaged due to user error, the principal investigator overseeing the specific project will bear the cost of necessary repairs.
Consumables
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Each laboratory is responsible for the ordering and purchasing any consumable items required for their study, e.g. EMG electrodes, batteries, ear plugs, EEG gel, sanitation supplies, gloves etc. N3 scientists can provide supplier contact information for such purchases if needed.
Data Storage
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The N3 Network and staff are not responsible for users’ data and back up. It is the responsibility of users to back up data.
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The data in the N3 Facility computers will be deleted on a regular basis depending on the amount of stored data. N3 has the right to delete data left on the drives without notice.
Staffing
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All laboratory staff/coordinators/research assistants must meet the University of Calgary job classification of Specialist 1 or Technical 1 or higher.
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Graduate and undergraduate trainees can only participate in the execution of studies utilizing N3 resources after receiving Level 1 training, and must be under the direct supervision of a trained staff member, or senior trainee.
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Volunteers cannot perform functions that are normally done by paid employees under the University of Calgary’s Collective Agreements (https://www.ucalgary.ca/risk/risk-management-insurance/services/volunteer-registration-and-management), and therefore cannot administer non-invasive neurostimulation using N3 resources under any circumstances.