July, 2016

The OICE is a nonprofit organisation and is open to scientists at the conditions laid out below. External usage is, in general, possible.

You can download a pdf of the Usage and Account Rules

1. Owners who contribute equipment to the pool do not have to pay for the usage of their own devices.
2. Owners who contribute equipment to the pool pay 50% of the usage fee for other devices until the equivalent usage time is reached that has been assigned to the contributed equipment at the OICE. After this time, the full usage fee will be charged.
3. Users who did not contribute equipment for the pool pay the full usage fee.
4. Maintenance and repair of pool equipment will be organised and financed by the OICE pro rata to the respective usage time. Individual participation in repair costs depending on the age of the device will be negotiated upon inclusion of the equipment into the pool
5. The core usage hours are from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. During this time, 100% of the standard hourly rate will be used as a calculation basis.
6. During other times, 75% of the standard hourly rate will be used as a calculation basis.
7. Long-term measurements during the night from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. will be charged with 25% of the standard hourly rate under the condition that at least 6 hours were calculated at 75% - 100%. Individual pricing for long-term measurements can be negotiated upon special request.
8. Cancellations are free until 24 hours prior to the agreed usage period. If a booking is cancelled less than 24 hours in advance, 50% of the standard hourly rate will be charged. Should another user book the device during the cancelled usage period, the compensated hours will not be charged for. Cancellations of bookings for contributed devices are always free, but the usage period will remain in the booking system and count towards the total usage time.
9. The time credits earned on contributed equipment are valid for a maximum of 12 months after withdrawal from the pool but cannot exceed total time of the equipment being part of the OICE pool.
10. The usage of contributed devices has to be documented via the booking system.
11. The usage time for contributed devices and pool devices is documented and invoiced every two months. Invoices always show the actual usage time.
12. An initial trial session (CFU) for students is provided for free (< 3 hours).

• Infrastructure for the operation of high-end microscopy systems including security level S2 GenTech.
• Professional scientific assistance regarding imaging techniques and sample preparation.
• Project planning regarding imaging strategy and sample preparation.
• On demand optimisation of image acquisition parameters regarding the particular samples (one-off free service, < 2 hours).
• Online booking, management and report system.
• Manufacturer contact regarding maintenance and repairs for all devices in the pool.
• Basic usage introduction to the particular device for new users.*
• S2 zugelassenes Labor für Präparation (Workbench, Inkubation, kurzfristige Probenlagerung)
• GenTech S2 approved laboratory for sample preparation (workbench, incubation, short-term sample storage)
• In selected cases a scientific cooperation with the CFU / ERU / MPL / Fraunhofer IIS is possible under co-authorship
• Maintenance of the hard- and software systems
• Platform for documentation
• Excellent international scientific networking with leading universities and institutes

* Introduction to a microscopy system will only be provided for future OICE users. If the system is not booked during the following 6 weeks, the training will be charged with 10 core hours of that system to compensate for the incurred costs.

Terms and conditions for hands-on / theoretical seminars provided by the OICE: Groups contributing a device to the OICE pool are granted a limited early bird allotment for members of the respective group. Seminar fees, if applicable, will be reduced by 50 % for those participating from contributing groups.

Since the OICE is financed from several resources, an acknowledgement is necessary for publications of images or data resulting from work at the OICE, e.g. with the phrase: Microscopy was performed in the Optical Imaging Center Erlangen (OICE).

By using services provided by the OICE, every group leader / user agrees to the following liability rules: Equipment damage not resulting from normal wear and tear of parts at the end of their respective average life time, i.e. damage caused by users due to improper use will be repaired at the cost of the responsible principal investigator account. Every user is obligated to test the booked equipment for its proper function prior to starting his or her session. If improper function is found during this initial checkup, the user immediately has to submit an incident report or advise a member of staff about the issue in person. If improper function is found at OICE pool equipment without an according incident report or personal notice, the last user of the device will be held responsible for the damage.