Service History of the Lucas MRS Imaging Center

Over the past seven years, our revenue history has been as follows:

2000: $996,476
2001: $1,104,065
2002: $682,438
2003: $1,300,607
2004: $1,396,096
2005: $1,033,728
2006: $987,388
2007: $1,100,000 (projected)

The sources of funding for imaging projects at the Lucas Center vary. From a random sample of 45 PTAs (account numbers that did not include gift funding balances), the total funded dollars ($5,037,492) for the life of 23 projects came from contracts (industry/foundation). The total funded dollars ($25,230,467) for the life of 22 projects came from the National Institutes of Health/National Science Foundation.

As an academic service center, the Lucas MRS Imaging Center has to follow certain policies such as offering nondiscriminatory rates. All users of the facility are billed the same rate for the services offered, although we do have the option to charge external users more but never less than internal users. Volume discounts or special pricing must be equally available to all users meeting the criteria.

Image courtesy of Mark Riesenberger

Because a significant portion of Center revenue is derived from federal and nonfederal sponsored research projects, no unallowable costs as defined in the A-21 guidelines(http://domrg.stanford.edu/research/a-21.html) may be charged to the Center account. Allowable costs are expenses that are reasonable; allocable to sponsored agreements; consistently treated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; in conformance with limitations or exclusions contained in the A-21 guidelines or the sponsored agreement; and of direct benefit to the users of the Center. Examples of allowable costs include salary and benefits; depreciation; supplies and expenses; equipment repair and maintenance contracts; travel (i.e., training workshops); and telephone/networking charges, which are normally unallowable under the A21 guidelines.

As the Administrative Services Manager of the Lucas MRS Imaging Center for over 13 years, I have been involved in the day-to-day operations at the Lucas Center and have overseen the payroll; reimbursement; accounting; personnel policies and procedures; and service policies. On a regular basis, I also review the Center's fiscal year-end balance and the Center's billings and expenses to ensure that the approved billing rates have been properly applied and that unallowable expenses are not charged to the Center account.

Thanks to your help, the Richard M. Lucas Center has grown into a major international resource for innovation in medical imaging. By combining an exceptional team of scientists and administrators with cutting-edge technology, we are transforming the service of medical imaging.