Inactive

Description: This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding:... Description: This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service? disabled, veteran?owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran?owned small businesses; woman?owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. 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 notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made because of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background / Purpose / Objective: The National Institute of Mental Health functional MRI Facility (FMRIF) is a core resource of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intramural research program mandated to provide researchers with access to state-of-the-art equipment, tools, and techniques for their experiments. The FMRIF currently operates three 3T (high field) and two 7T (ultra-high field) human MRI systems within the NMR MRI Research Center at NIH. The performance of all these systems is exquisitely sensitive to all the subsystems of the MRI. The quality of the fMRI research conclusions thus depends on the quality of the fMRI source data, which in turn depends on the performance of the MRI system hardware. To obtain high quality images, all the subsystems of the MRI system (main magnet, radiofrequency transmit and receive, and gradients) must be operating within very stringent tolerances. This is especially important for the state-of-the-art and bleeding edge research methods being used for high resolution fMRI research, whose requirements are significantly more demanding than those for routine clinical MRI. The specific objective of this purchase is the acquisition of an independent, comprehensive quality assurance service meeting or exceeding the QA and safety requirements for accreditation by American College of Radiology (ACR accreditation) for FMRIF’s 3T systems, and a comprehensive quality assurance service similar to, and meeting or exceeding the QA and safety requirements for accreditation by American College of Radiology (ACR accreditation) for 1.5T and 3.0T MRI systems, for FMRIF’s 7T systems. A complete system performance evaluation will be performed annually. The service will be purchased for the three 3T and two 7T MRI systems operated by the FMRIF, which include: FMRIF 3TA (GEHealthcare MR750 3T) FMRIF 3TB (GE Healthcare MR750 3T) FMRIF 3TD (Siemens Skyra 3T) FMRIF 7TA (Siemens Magnetom 7T Plus) FMRIF 7TB (Siemens Magnetom 7T Terra) Salient characteristics: The vendor will make an initial visit to the NIH FMRIF and make a baseline evaluation of the performance of the FMRIF MRI scanners to ensure that the scanners meet or exceed the standards required for ACR accreditation for FMRIF’s 3T systems. For FMRIF’s 7T systems, make a baseline evaluation of the performance to ensure that the scanners meet or exceed the standards required for ACR accreditation similar to those for 1.5T and 3T MRI systems. The vendor will help the customer formulate a QA regimen, to replicate as closely as is scientifically possible, QA procedures for 7T MRI scanners, that replicate the system integrity and consistency checks performed for 1.5T and 3T MRI systems. Anticipated period of performance / delivery date: The Government’s anticipated period of performance is a base year with two additional option periods. Other important considerations: The response may cite any other information that is necessary for potential respondents to understand the nature of the potential requirement or proposed acquisition. Capability statement /information sought. The respondents must submit clear and convincing evidence that they are able to provide the services as specified in this notice. The response shall include all information or factors that may be considered to determine the method of acquisition. The information must address each of the specifications and proof of being able to perform as required. The response must also include SAM.gov registration status, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc., pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e?mail addresses. The response must be clear and concise in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11?point or 12?point font, 8?1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, with single or double spacing, and limited to ten (10) pages (exclusive of the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested). All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to Christopher Belt. Contractor, Acquisition Policy Analyst II, at debra.hawkins@nih.gov on or before May 29, 12:00 PM. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted. Disclaimer 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 provide the product or perform the services specified herein. 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 presolicitation 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).”