1211421_Amendment_No_0002_Q&A.docx

Amendment 0002 to Solicitation FDA_SOL_1211421:

The purpose of this amendment is as follows:

1. Post Answers to Questions received by June 24, 2019 at 2:00pm Central Time. Answers have been provided by the technical point of contact for this requirement:

Q1. We would like to ask for an extension of submission deadline. Reason being is that we need more time to correctly determine all project requirements so that we can provide the best system solution to the end user.

A1: The deadline for submission of proposals has been extended until July 8, 2019 at 2pm Central Time.

Q2: Do you accept site visits? A site visit is vital due to the complexity of the project. Our experience has been that when we are able to see what the end user is looking to do; we sit down and talk over all requirements with the end user. This way there are no surprises when it comes to determining what needs to be built.

A2: A site visit is acceptable; however, potential suppliers should understand exactly what the request is before coming here so that they are making the best use of their time/travel funds.

Q3: What is the size of each chamber in Width, Height, Depth? Do you have a sketch or a drawing or part number of an equivalent product?

A3: The chamber size of 22”W x 22”H x 16”D is the desired size of the testing chamber. The sound attenuating box for each chamber should be large enough to fully enclose the plexiglass (lexan) testing chamber and the pellet dispenser, with space for air flow and a hole for a vent fan.

Q4: When you mention modular construction, do you want the chamber to be interconnectable or do you need to have assemblies in place inside the chamber so that additional components can be added/removed from inside of the chamber?

A4: Modular in this context means that the chamber can be customized to change the levers, the visible windows (i.e. a three-choice task vs. a five-choice task), and the location of the pellet dispenser/tray. The chambers should not be interconnected, and each individual testing chamber should be contained within its own sound-attenuating box. Interconnected chambers would result in unusable data due to background noise and scent interference with testing rats being able to smell others/hear noises from other chambers.

Q5: What is the size of the pallet dispenser? How many food pallets does it need to hold? Do you have an equivalent product/part number that we can look this up?

A5: The pellet dispenser should be able to dispense a 45 mg pellet (we typically use reinforcer pellets from Bio-Serv). The standard pellet dispenser we use is from Med Associates.

Q6: With regards the comment: “be capable of configuration for use with rats” could you tell me more about what configurations are required?

A6: Operant testing chambers can be used with many different species of research animal. This request is for chambers that will be used only for rats.

Q7: I see 16 chambers and 16 touchscreens and 1 computer. My question is: how are you looking to connect the computer to the touchscreens? Are we talking about a desktop here? Do you want all data inside the touchscreen to be passed to a computer? What are the requirements of the software on the computer?

A7: The setup is that each testing chamber is a plexiglass or lexan box (rectangular in shape). The floor is comprised of wire bars, with a removable tray underneath. The top contains a housing light. One of the Plexiglas sides (long sides of the rectangle) contains an entry door. The ends have pillars with sliding steel or aluminum panels that allow for placement of levers, pellet trays, light arrays, and touchscreen apparatuses, depending on the need. Each chamber will contain a touchscreen (not a true touchscreen, but of the infrared beam break type) at one of the shorter sides. Each touchscreen will be connected to a video card attached to a specialized computer that runs the specialized operating system/software for the touchscreens. This specialized operating system/software can be programmed to run specific operant behavioral tasks and can be modified to write or create additional operant tasks. This software/operating system collects all data and returns that data to the researcher on demand via easily exportable and well-defined data points.

Q8: My overall concept understanding is that you will be doing research on rodents. The end user intends to program of system of tasks perform by rodents, with rewards and punishments and challenges. The end user wants to have programmable recipes such as dispense two food pallets, turn on lights, close doors, move levers, etc. Is this correct?

A8: This is indeed for rodent research, specifically rats. The specialized software can be configured such that it will perform a variety of operant testing programs, with the ability to customize those programs for specific endpoints or testing criteria. Rats receive a pelleted food reinforcer for properly completing the task (one reinforcer per correct answer, up to a maximum allowed amount per session). There are no punishments in this system. The challenges are the testing programs that are programmed and operated by the specialized software.

9. Do you have a sketch of the chamber, the system, the way that the researcher/end user would like to have their system setup?

A9: A sketch or drawing is not available. A suggestion would be to browse on the internet available solutions currently offered by various suppliers.

(End of Amendment 0002 to Solicitation FDA_SOL_1511421)