Innovative Imaging Technology System- Brand Name or Equal

Montana

08/02/2024 12:30 PM EDT

08/14/2024 03:00 PM EDT

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF - NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH - NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIAID

Introduction

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement.  

Project Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) is seeking a high-content innovative imaging technology system.

Specifically, NIAID, RML is seeking an Innovative Imaging Technology System that can perform the following applications:

The microscope:

1. The instrument type must be a widefield epifluorescence microscope.
2. The microscope’s camera must be the latest-generation sCMOS camera with high resolution and thermoelectrically cooled sensor (15 megapixels, 25 mm diagonal field of view).
3. The excitation on the microscope must be six high-power excitation LEDs with filters at 386/23 nm, 420/10 nm, 470/40 nm, 531/46 nm, 628/32 nm, 725/40 nm.
4. The microscope must have five emission filters (470/40 nm, 530/43 nm, 580/25 nm, 698/70 nm, 809/81 nm)
5. The autofocus on the microscope must have a dual approach of hardware-and image-based autofocus mechanisms.
6. The objectives of the microscope must be:
   1. 2× objective for overview images; NA 0.1
   2. 20× long working distance objective for 1 mm thick slides; NA 0.45
   3. 20× objective with a high numerical aperture for 170 µm thick cover glass; NA 0.75
7. The bleaching unit of the microscope must be:

• Separate bleaching unit for optimized signal erasure

• Illuminated area: 3 mm × 3 mm

• Light intensity: 2 W

Liquid Handling System

1. The liquid handling system must have a robotic needle arm allowing fully automated liquid transfer.
2. The liquid handling system must have a washable stainless steel needle with minimized spillover.
3. The liquid handling system must have a syringe pump drive for accurate volumetric staining of samples.
4. The liquid handling system must have 1.5 fluid containers for automatic operation over several days without exchanging containers.

Sample and Reagent Stage

1. The sample and reagent stage must have a sub-micron positioning accuracy of 100 nm (automated image registration for different cycles).
2. The sample and reagent stage must have convenient loading and clamping of all supported sample carriers and reagents.

Technical Data

1. The imaging system must have two integrated computers for experiment planning/execution and image analysis.
2. The imaging system monitors must be: tiltable integrated touch display (Full HD) for PC1 and an external 4K monitor for PC2.
3. The imaging system storage/ports must be:

• 25 TB integrated storage to store data of several experiments

• 2× USB 3.0

• HDMI port

1. The network must be: 1× 10 GbE 1× RJ45 GbE/10GbE
2. The power requirement and consumption must be: 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz, max. 7/13A, max. 1,300 W

Additional Requirements

1. The control software must feature:

• Comprehensive sample and reagent management system

• Easy planning and design of both simple and complex experiments

• User-friendly execution and monitoring of experiments

1. The analysis software must feature:

• Easy display of hundreds of markers from high-dimensional datasets

• Fast and flexible segmentation

• Interactive gating

• Unbiased data analysis (k-means clustering, UMAP and t-SNE calculation)

• Multiple plotting options (histogram, scatter plot, strip and violin plots, heatmaps)

• Workflow editor

• Distance analyses

1. The dimensions must be:

• Instrument dimension: 1,220 mm × 780 mm × 650 mm (w × d × h); footprint: 1,210 mm × 750 mm (w × d)

• MACSima Table1: 1,250 mm × 765 mm × 813 mm (w × d × h)

1. The weight must be:

• Instrument: 160 kg

• MACSima Table1: 120 kg

Anticipated Period of Performance

It is anticipated that an award will be made on or about September 30, 2024. Delivery of equipment will be required as soon as possible.

Capability Statement/Information Sought

If your organization has the potential capacity to provide a Innovative Imaging Technology System which meets the minimum salient characteristics listed above, please provide the following information:

1. Organization name, address, point of contact, email address, website address, telephone number, UEI number
2. Type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, Other than Small, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code
3. Identification of any Best-in-Class contract vehicles including Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) (e.g., GSA schedule, NITAAC) they may possess or are aware of that would support this possible requirement. If your organization does not provide the products/services under a GWAC, please identify availability as OPEN MARKET ONLY.
4. Tailored capability statement addressing the capability of the instrument to meet NIAID’s minimum salient characteristics. Capability document shall be no more than six pages.
5. Place of manufacture for the Innovative Imaging Technology System and if applicable, any accessories/components.
6. Evidence that the organization is an authorized reseller or manufacturer of the instrument. Only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products are acceptable.  
7. Provide information regarding sustainability considerations of the equipment and any associated parts.  Are any parts of the system energy efficient consistent with Energy Start certification or FEMP designated products.  Furthermore, are there any sustainability practices or materials such as the use of recovered materials, biobased products, or alternative to ozone-depleting substances used in the manufacturing process of the instrument.

Submission Instructions

Interested businesses who consider themselves qualified to provide the above listed Innovative Imaging Technology System are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by August 14, 2024, at 3:00 PM EST. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice shall be emailed to Hershea Vance at hershea.vance@nih.gov.

Disclamer and Important Notes

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, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities.  However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).