NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION: NIMH Electroencephalography (EEG) Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) system

NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source

1.SOLICITATION NUMBER: NIMH-24-003697-NOI
2. TITLE:  NIMH Electroencephalography (EEG) Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) system
3. CLASSIFICATION CODE: 66 -- Instruments & laboratory equipment
4. NAICS CODE: 334510 - Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing
5. RESPONSE DATE: 5/10/24
6. PRIMARY POINTS OF CONTACT:
Kyle Miller
Kyle.Miller2@nih.gov

Christine Frate
Christine.Frate@nih.gov

7. DESCRIPTION:

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME).

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) FMRI Core Facility intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Magstim for the purchase of an Electroencephalography (EEG) Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) system.

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS

The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 334510 - Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing with a Size Standard of 1,250 employees.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6—Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization).

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-05 dated April 22, 2024.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) FMRI Core Facility needs to acquire an EEG-fMRI system to expand our existing EEG equipment portfolio from Electrical Geodesics Inc. (EGI). Currently the FMRI Facility owns one in-scanner (simultaneous) EEG system, and one neuromodulation (GTEN; tDCS/tACS) system from EGI. These systems work with specialized EEG nets that come in a range of sizes. As the number of researchers using simultaneous EEG-fMRI has increased, we need to purchase a second simultaneous EEG-fMRI amplifier to reduce timing conflicts when more than one group wishes to collect data at the same time.

The FMRI Core Facility has equipment for collecting EEG and fMRI data both separately as well as simultaneously.  The facility has a growing user base of users collecting each of these types of data who are eager to collect more data requiring increased EEG hardware and software resources. We hope with the addition of a second system will continue to grow the data collection efforts across the institutes that use the FMRI Core Facility. 

The EGI systems offer unique mixture of high channel counts (in this configuration 256 channels) ideal for performing brain source analysis, with easy to apply nets that require no abrasion of the scalp in order to get quality EEG signals. The system uses a combination of AgCl electrodes with sponge covers that allow for quick application of the instrument to participant/patient populations for data gathering in the MRI environment. The EEG amplifier itself is setup to synchronize with several biophysical markers of heart rate (ECG) and respiration, interface with experimental control systems (to present stimuli) and data analysis platforms developed internally at the FMRIF.

Delivery is expected within 60 days after receipt of order.
 

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION

During market research, it was found that Magstim Inc. is the only vendor that can provide the required product. It was found that no other products could duplicate what they can do given the FMRI Core Facility’s current equipment setup and processes. Additionally, Magstim uses proprietary software which, due to the current infrastructure of the FMRI Core Facility, would require any replacement product to be able to work with that software. Therefore, with these facts in mind, it was found that Magstim Inc. is the only vendor that can provide the needed product.

The intended source is:

Magstim Inc.

1626 Terrace Drive,

Roseville, MN 55113 USA

CLOSING STATEMENT

THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Unique Entity Identifier ID (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, NIMH-24-003697-NOI. Responses must be submitted electronically to Kyle Miller, Contract Specialist, at kyle.miller2@nih.gov and Christine Frate, Contracting Officer, at Christine.frate@nih.gov . U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.