diff --git a/ca_source_extraction/endoscope/get_patch_data.m b/ca_source_extraction/endoscope/get_patch_data.m
index 930cb44..372f9b4 100644
--- a/ca_source_extraction/endoscope/get_patch_data.m
+++ b/ca_source_extraction/endoscope/get_patch_data.m
@@ -13,7 +13,11 @@
 end
 
 % check whether the code is running on a worker (for parallel processing)
-isOnWorker = ~isempty(getCurrentTask()); 
+try
+    isOnWorker = ~isempty(getCurrentTask());
+catch
+    isOnWorker = false;
+end
 
 %% check whether the mat_data has been loaded into the base space 
 mat_file = mat_data.Properties.Source();