Procurement of one (1) Brand-Name or Equal NIKON A1R HD25 Confocal System with Ti2-E Inverted Microscope.

NOTICE NUMBER:
75N91021Q00022

ISSUED BY:

National Cancer Institute (NCI),
Office of Acquisitions (OA)
Strategic Acquisitions Branch (SAB)

DESCRIPTION
This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified small business concerns including 8(a), HUBZone or Service-Disabled Veteran-owned business concerns that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NCI does not intend to award a contract based on responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This requirement is assigned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 333314 with a size standard of 500.

NCI may issue a request for quotation (RFQ) as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NCI shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice or the NCI’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.
 

BRAND NAME OR EQUAL

This requirement is for the procurement of the brand name or equivalent instrument described in the Statement of Need. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.211-6, Brand Name or Equal (AUG 1999) is applicable to this requirement.

BACKGROUND

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Laboratory of Cell Biology (LCB)  is focused on research that studies what drives selection of the sites of metastasis during cancer progression. The LCB requires the purchase of a NIKON A1R HD25 Confocal System and Ti2-E Inverted Microscope, or equivalent. The systems currently used by the lab are too slow to acquire the necessary field of view and do not possess the spatial resolution needed to further the research conducted by the LCB. Thus, the LCB seeks to procure a new confocal system and inverted microscope with a larger field of view and higher spatial resolution.

PRODUCT FEATURES/SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS

The following product features/characteristics are required.

1. Ti2-E Microscope

   1. Shall include a large field of view/field of vision (FOV) of at least 25-mm, coupled with a dual-camera support (64 x 64 through 4096 x 4096).
   2. To ensure that there is no large drift due to this large field of view, an offset lens shall be included that will allow simultaneously monitoring of  the reference focal plane and maintaining focus on the image plane in real-time with continuous correction.
   3. Shall include a built-in DAQ card that allows the end-user to add an external trigger or sync their image acquisition with an additional modality
   4. The microscope shall be configured to move between total internal reflection microscopy (TIRF) and confocal microscopy using motorized parts and the built-in software.

1. AIR HD25 Confocal Scan Head

   1. To achieve temporal resolutions spanning milliseconds to seconds, two types of scanners are typically done for each speed. The scan head shall ensure a seamless transition between a Galvano-scanner and resonant scanner and allow for switching between each scanner without restarting the software.
   2. The scan head also shall have high resolution spectral detection of “1K X 1K” for the entire field of view that does not require scan field zooming or cropping.  Thus, reduced image resolution is not lost as is usually the case when imaging a large field of vision at higher temporal speeds.
   3. The resonant scanner shall allow imaging at a minimum acquisition speed of 60 frames/s (256 x 256 pixels), 30 frames/s (512 x 512 pixels), or 15 frames/s (1024 x 1024 pixels) at 1x optical zoom or line scans at rates of 720 frames/s at 512 x 16 pixels and up to 15,600 lines/s.
   4. The Galvano scanner shall have a 25 mm diagonal FOV with continuous zoom option from 1-1000x.
   5. The pinhole shall allow for optimized light transmittal in both the excitation and detection of light from one imaging plane, and thus must be a geometric circle or hexagonal shape.

1. NIS-Elements C Software

   1. Software shall be able to trigger switching from different scanner without restarting and must have a function to minimize noise due to switching between instrument heads.
   2. Software shall include the ability to remove Poisson detector shot noise from confocal images, significantly reducing the need for image averaging and allowing users to push their imaging to higher speeds at lower laser powers ( <1% of 1mW). This ability should be able to be applied live or post- image acquisition.
   3. Software shall have a function for an integrated water dispenser for adding and removing water during time-lapse and multi-position experiments using software for full experimental control.
   4. Software shall have an AI-based image analysis for label-free segmentation and thresholding of images.

TRAINING

The Contractor shall provide in-person training no later than 10 business days after delivery of the instrument. Training shall be delivered to three (3) end-users within the Laboratory of Cell Biology at the following location:

37 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892

DELIVERY / INSTALLATION

GENERAL

The Contractor shall ship all supplies FOB Destination. The Contractor shall deliver supplies no later than 90-days after receipt of order (ARO) unless otherwise directed by the TPOC. The Contractor shall furnish all supplies outlined in this purchase order to the following address:

37 Convent Dr
Bethesda, MD 20892

Pursuant to FAR 52.212-4, all supplies and services to be delivered under this contract are subject to final inspection and acceptance by an authorized representative of the Government.

NOTE: The contact information for the technical point of contact (TPOC) for this order shall be provided at award.

​​​​​​​INSTALLATION

The Contractor shall provide on-site installation of the instrument no later than 10 business days after delivery.

PROCEDURES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

DELIVERY AND SERVICE DATES

The Contractor shall store or retain all supplies furnished under this order until notified by the NCI Contracting Officer or technical point of contact (TPOC) of a delivery date. The Contractor must obtain final approval from the TPOC for the delivery date/timeframe prior to shipping supplies under this award to ensure the Government can accept all supplies.

The Contractor shall not sell supplies furnished under this order to another company or party if the NCI is unable to accept delivery due to conditions related to COVID-19. Training and installation as required by the purchase order may be delayed due to conditions related to COVID-19. If services provided under this order are delayed, the Contractor shall provide all services at different times and dates at no additional cost.

​​​​​​​DELIVERY PROCEDURES

• The Contractor shall direct all courier and delivery services – including those not operated by the Contractor (e.g. FedEx, USPS, UPS) – to follow the instructions in this section.
• All companies delivering to the NIH main campus must comply with Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (CVIF) access procedures. Upon arrival, the CVIF will provide a list of buildings and loading docks to delivery personnel.
• Deliveries will be logged in at the loading dock, and the loading dock contractor or Government personnel will attempt to contact the TPOC listed on the package. In the event that the TPOC is unable to accept the package, the delivery shall not be left at the loading dock station. The delivery must be returned to the Contractor, and the Contractor must coordinate with the TPOC to deliver on another date at no additional cost.
• Deliveries can only be made between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST, Monday – Friday, excluding federal holidays.

GENERAL

The Contractor shall warrant all supplies furnished under this award against any material or manufacturing defects, defective materials, and/or defective workmanship for a minimum of one (1) year after date of delivery. The Contractor shall also warrant and imply that all items delivered as a result of this order are merchantable and fit for use for the particular purpose described in the contract in accordance with FAR 52.212-4(o).

RESPONSE DELIVERY POINT

Capability statements shall be submitted via email to Contract Specialist, Renee Jones-Chuang, at renee.jones-chuang@nih.gov no later than the date and time posted in the notice. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain enough detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the unique specifications described herein. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must have valid registration and certification in the System for Awards Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov. No collect calls will be accepted. Please reference number 75N91021Q00022 on all correspondence.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, an RFQ may be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).