23-006170

Post Date/ Solicitation Issue Date

July 9, 2023 12:00 pm

Closing Response Date

July 19, 2023 12:52 pm

Proposed Award Date

July 24, 2023 12:00 pm

Project Title

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) coil cooling unit

Contracting Office

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Small Business Size Standard

1000

FPDS Classification Code

6640

Delivery of Goods

6-8 weeks ARO

Competition Status

Brand Name Only

Single-Sole Source Determination

The study where this device will be used requires a cooling unit that is compatible with existing equipment in order to ensure safety and avoid coil overheating.

Only this suggested source can furnish the requirements, to the exclusion of other sources, because based on the market research, there is no other company which can meet all capabilities required by the protocol and compatibilities with existing equipment.

The essential characteristics of The MagVenture Coil Cooling Unit that limit the availability to a sole source are the following:

• The MagPro cooled coils utilizes a unique, patented liquid coil cooling system and the refrigeration cooling unit keeps the coils from overheating and maintains the temperature of the coils between 18 and 20°C at all time.
• The MagVenture Coil Cooling Unit is compatible with the MagPro Cool B-65 A/P coil that is being used in this study.

The MagVenture Coil Cooler Unit is needed to support the Study entitled, “Role of GABAergic transmission in auditory processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder”. The current study uses a cooled coil that requires special liquid cooling media so as not to overheat. The coil cooler unit is patented and can only be used with MagVenture coils, which are already being used for this study. The study has been reviewed and approved by the NIMH committee for the Scientific Review of Protocols (CSRP) and by the the NIH IRB.

Background/Description of Requirement

1. Statement of Need and Purpose:

A coil cooling unit is needed to support the Study entitled, “Role of GABAergic transmission in auditory processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder”. This coil cooling unit is an essential component for a complete TMS system. A coil cooling unit is fundamental for use of the liquid cooled coil, which is also being requested in order to carry out our study, which has been reviewed and approved by the NIMH committee for the Scientific Review of Protocols (CSRP) and by the NIH IRB. As part of the study, TMS pulses must be applied repeatedly, which may result in coil overheating. The coil cooling unit keeps the coils from overheating and maintains the temperature of the coils between 18 and 20°C at all time. The existing system does not have a coil cooling unit as it has not previously been used for repetitive stimulation protocols. The coil cooling unit requested here will allow for the study to utilize existing equipment currently in the Noninvasive Neuromodulation Unit.

2. Background Information and Objective

The 2020 NIMH Strategic Plan for Research’s top goal is to “define brain mechanisms underlying complex behaviors”. The goal of the study entitled, “Role of GABAergic transmission in auditory processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder” is to define the brain mechanism underlying a core behavioral deficit of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), language processing through an experimental therapeutics approach. 

The blinded, cooled coil will allow for the targeted stimulation of language processing networks within the brain in order to transiently modulate the putative brain mechanism, GABAergic transmission. In doing so, we aim to define the causal link between the putative mechanism and the neurological and behavioral phenotype of ASD.

4.Salient characteristics

•           The liquid coil cooling system and a refrigeration cooling unit keeps the coils from overheating and maintains the temperature of the coils between 18 and 20°C at all time.