Intent to Sole Source Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system

The Veteran s Administration (VA) Office of Research and Development, Regional Procurement Office East in Pittsburgh, PA intends to negotiate on behalf of the VA San Diego Medical Center Research and Development section located in San Diego, CA. The intent is to negotiate on a sole source basis with Bruker BioSpin Corp. based in Billerica, MA to acquire one BioSpec 3T system.
The requirement is for one (1) Small-Animal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system with specifications that meet or exceed those listed in the specifications section.
This instrument shall be delivered and installed in the Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU) on 6 North of the VA San Diego Medical Center.
Specifications:
The vendor shall supply instrumentation that meets or exceeds the following specifications:
1. 3T MRI shall have a minimum 18cm bore and capable of using an 82mm OD RF coil
2. 3T MRI shall have a minimum 4-hour hold time upon power outage or loss of cooling water without the use of a battery back-up system
3. 3T MRI shall have a standard gradient strength of 480 mT/m, or 960 mT/m with the use of high-power gradient amplifier
4. 3T MRI shall be capable of using 24 receive and transmit channels
5. 3T MRI shall be capable of being upgraded with a CryoProbe
6. 3T MRI shall be capable of being upgraded with a 3-Ring Inline PET Module with minimum 14.8cm axial FOV
7. 3T MRI shall be able to use a library of at least 250 predefined sequence protocols
8. 3T MRI shall include software sequence packages such as functional and ultrashort echo time/zero echo time
9. 3T MRI shall be able to use Self-Gated IntraGate and IntraGateUTE for cardiac applications
10. 3T MRI shall be capable of 3D dynamic shimming in CSI and EPI
11. 3T MRI shall be capable of using DREAM for B1 mapping and shimming
12. 3T MRI shall be capable of using the 2-point DIXON water/fat separation module in RARE
13. 3T MRI shall be capable of whole brain mapping of CEST metabolites including measuring glutamates with GluCEST
14. Manufacturer of the 3T shall have multiple, permanent service personnel located in California
15. Manufacturer of the 3T shall have a minimum of 200 documented worldwide MRI installations
Freight
Minimum twelve (12) month warranty period.
The requirement will take place at a VA facility in San Diego, CA. The sole source is pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals, however; any responsible source who believes it is capable of meeting the requirement may submit a capability statement and supporting documentation to the contracting office no later than Monday, July 15, 2019 (10:00 AM, EST). Interest/capability statements may be sent to Michael Haydo at Michael.haydo@va.gov. No telephone responses will be accepted. A determination not to compete the proposed requirement based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government..