A. General Description

A.1. Mission

The M/EEG & Neuromod platform at Campus Biotech is an ensemble of magneto/electroencephalographic and neuromodulation laboratories dedicated to state-of-the-art investigations in human neuroscience. The platform is part of the Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva (FCBG).

A.2. Management

The M/EEG & Neuromod platform is governed by the Platform Advisory Committee (PAC). The PAC includes three faculty advisors from EPFL, University of Geneva and HUG, the manager of the M/EEG & Neuromod platform and the head of FCBG platforms. The faculty advisors oversee the scientific aspects of the platform, while the manager and the head of platforms oversee operations. Faculty Advisors are appointed by the Conseil Académique.

A.3. Study Eligibility

The platform will support research projects in human neuroscience according to its mission as defined above. Animal studies are not permitted at the M/EEG & Neuromod platform.

All human studies must have a current, valid, Ethics Committee Approval. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) to ensure that a valid Ethics Committee Approval is in place, and that all aspects of human study are performed consistently with that approval. Priority is given to projects proposed by principal investigators (PIs) based at Campus Biotech (from UNIGE, EPFL and HUG).

B. Terms of use

B.1. Getting an approval to conduct a MEG, EEG or neuromodulation study

To have access to the M/EEG & Neuromod platform, each study needs to be approved by the PAC. Each PI intending to run a study at the M/EEG & Neuromod platform needs to submit a short formal application and to present and discuss the project in a study presentation session.

The formal application must include the following information:

• Rationale and aim of the study
• Description of the study design
• Total planned number of participants (including pilot study) and types (healthy participants; patients)
• Number of hours per participant
• Hardware requirements (highlighting non-standard equipment, if necessary)
• Software requirements
• List of the investigators performing the acquisitions
• Ethics Committee Approval (including the starting and expiration date of the approval)

An online form covering the above items is available for project submission and information. All applications must be submitted using the webpage https://platforms.fcbg.ch/form/

The study presentation session will be held jointly with the Brain and Behaviour Lab of the UniGe. Dates of the meetings are available upon request.

The PAC will assess the technical feasibility of all applications. If the study is not technically feasible as it stands, the PAC will propose modifications which, in consultation with the applicant, will ultimately have to be implemented. In addition, the PAC may issue technical and scientific recommendations in writing following the project submission, or orally during the project presentation. It is the applicant's responsibility to follow these recommendations. The PAC will not deny an application based on its scientific relevance.

The above regulation can be discussed on a case-by-case basis when the funding of the study is 100% private.

B.2. User Fees

For a full pricing list, please refer to the document available online at https://meegnmod.fcbg.ch/fees/

Five sessions for study preparation and piloting are free of charge for academic centers.

Cancellations: reservations of the MEG can be cancelled without a fee up to 24 hours prior to the start of the allotted time slot by deleting the reservation on the calendar system. After this deadline, the reserved time will be charged at a rate of 50% if not used by another study. In addition, researchers are required to advertise the MEG booking cancellation on the M/EEG & Neuromod platform mailing list. This does not free the researchers to delete the reservation in the calendar.

Reservation of other systems and rooms of the M/EEG & Neuromod platform can be cancelled without restriction anytime before the start of the allotted time slot.

Billing: invoices are sent to researchers at the end of each calendar trimester. Charges are based on the number of hours reserved on the calendar system. In case of pending payment for prior invoices, the FCBG may revoke access to the M/EEG & Neuromod platform.

B.3. Responsibility

• The employer of the PI bears the general responsibility for the study
• A proof of insurance coverage for the study needs to be provided with the study application

B.4. Use of non-standard equipment

Research involving hardware modifications or installation of non-standard equipment requires the prior approval of the M/EEG & Neuromod platform.

C. M/EEG & Neuromod facility Use Policy

C.1. Access to the facility

• Access to the MEG room is allowed to people who have a valid project. Only trained staff are allowed to operate the MEG system. Visitors must always be accompanied by the platform's staff.
• Access to the Neuromodulation room and equipment is allowed to people who have a valid project. Only people who followed the neuromodulation safety training are allowed to operate neuromodulation equipment (TMS and TES). The safety training will be given to users upon request.
• Unrestricted access to the EEG systems and cabins is allowed to trained people who have a valid project. EEG training can be requested from the platform manager at any time by new users. Training is not necessary if the EEG acquisition is carried out by a technologist of the M/EEG & Neuromod platform.

C.2. Acknowledgments

Should part of the results obtained in collaboration with the FCBG be published, the PI agrees to include the following sentence in the 'Acknowledgments' section: "Collection of data used in this work was made possible by the support of the M/EEG & Neuromod platform at the Campus Biotech, Geneva."

C.3. Conduct of a study at the FCBG M/EEG & Neuromod platform

Any researcher who uses the M/EEG & Neuromod platform is required to set it up and clean it up properly. If the area is untidy when you arrive, or if the equipment has not been returned to its proper position or default state, inform the facility staff by email. If you fail to notify, you could be held responsible.

Set up and recordings:

• Only trained users may operate equipment of the platform
• For MEG recordings, a member of the research team must always be present, together with the MEG technologist
• The consent form must be signed and dated by the investigator
• It is the responsibility of the investigator to obtain and archive the signed informed consent
• Anyone entering the MEG room must not wear any electronic devices (phone, watch,…). As participants must be totally "de-metal", they will be asked to remove their clothes and wear a metal-free uniform provided the M/EEG-BCI facility
• It is the responsibility of the investigators to ensure on-time arrival of research subjects and their suitability for study
• Each investigator is responsible for finishing his/her study on time. Time for setup, cleanup and data storage must not infringe on the time of the following investigator. Unforeseen events such as failure of the equipment, late arrival of volunteers, etc. do occur and may shift or prolong the examination with a resulting infringement of the right of the subsequent investigator to start on time. While this should be a very rare exception and flexibility of all parties involved is expected, an overtime that exceeds 15min is not tolerated

C.4. In Case of Emergency

If a subject becomes ill enough to require medical assistance, stop the acquisition, call 155, and then contact the M/EEG & Neuromod platform staff

C.5. Clean Up

Except when equipment is operated by the M/EEG & Neuromod staff (e.g. MEG), it is the responsibility of the users to clean up when finished:

• equipment must be put back in place
• linen is to be deposited in the linen hamper
• all devices in contact with the human body are to be cleaned properly. Special care must be taken to clean up the EEG caps.
• any equipment problem is to be reported immediately to the staff

C.6. Food and Drink

No food is allowed in all areas of the M/EEG & Neuromod platform. Drink is permitted only in a sealed container.

C.7. Broken Equipment

Report all broken equipment and equipment failures immediately to the M/EEG & Neuromod platform staff via email (eeg@fcbg.ch, meg@fcbg.ch, neuromodulation@fcbg)

It is understood that equipment in constant use might wear out or occasionally experience a breakdown. You will not be held responsible, but we cannot fix items unless we know they are broken.

D. Training

The EEG and neuromodulation trainings are given by the M/EEG & Neuromod staff to the investigator. Once trained, the investigator is allowed to reserve and use the EEG and neuromodulation systems on their own. An investigator can perform an EEG or neuromodulation study without training only if assisted at all time by the platform's staff. The EEG training consists of 4 hours of hands-on. The neuromodulation training consists of hands-on and safety training.

E. Data Management

Data acquired at the M/EEG & Neuromod platform belongs to the investigator. It is the responsibility of the investigator to back up the data and ensure anonymization that follows the local regulation.

The M/EEG & Neuromod platform provides a secured server to temporarily store the data. The investigator may use this server to transfer the data from the facility to its own storage solution. The server is accessible form the FCBG, UNIGE and EPFL network.

F. Appendix

F.1. Staff (as of January 1st 2025)

• Dr. Gwenael Birot – Manager
• TBD – Engineer and/or scientist
• Mr. Jonathan Marquis – MEG technologist
• Dr. Vincent Rochas – Scientist

F.2. Faculty advisors (as of January 1st 2025)

• Prof. Friedhlem Hummel (EPFL)
• Prof. Adrian Guggisberg (HUG/UNIGE)
• Prof. Alexis Hervais-Adelman (UNIGE)