POTS22-006364

Submitted by fratecm on
Post Date/ Solicitation Issue Date
Closing Response Date
Proposed Award Date
Project Title
Olympus Platinum Service Contract on VS200 Slide Scanning Microscope System
Contracting Office
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Contact Points

Primary Contract Specialist

Tam
Ngo
ngot@nih.gov
The Olympus Platinum Service Contract will be critical to the daily operation of the Laboratory of Neuropsychology (LN) and Laboratory of Brain & Cognition (LBC) in performing histological analyses using the Olympus VS200 slide scanning microscope. The NIMH LN/LBC investigators perform experiments in which they need to collect light microscope images of very large amounts of sectioned material. This is frequently of entire brains from marmosets and macaques. The material is cut into sections that may be 20-40 microns thick and mounted onto slides. Depending on the species, the section thickness, and whether all sections or a sampling are used, a brain may create several hundred sections. It may be necessary to image them in either brightfield or fluorescence. Depending on details of the experimental information required, it may be appropriate to image at relatively low magnification (2.5-5X), medium (10-20X), or high (40X) magnification, or to initially image at low magnification and subsequently image selected regions of interest at higher magnification. It may be appropriate to collect images from a single focal plane or to collect images from multiple focal planes at each position.

This level of service contract is critical to the efficient functioning of the Olympus VS200 slide scanning microscope and associated research projects.
Small Business Size Standard
Large
Delivery of Goods
September 1, 2022
Set-Aside Status
Partial Set Aside
Competition Status
Brand Name Only
Vendor Name
Olympus America Inc.
Address
This acquisition is restricted to
Olympus America Inc.
3500 Corporate Parkway
Center Valley PA, 18034, United States
Tel: (800) 225-8330
SC.CV@olympus.com
http://www.olympus-lifescience.com
Sharada Tilve
Single-Sole Source Determination
Service contract listed herein is available from only one source, and competition is precluded for the reasons indicated below. There are no substitutes available.
The essential characteristics of Olympus America Inc. service contract that limit the availability to a sole source are the special features included in the slide scanning microscope specifically tailored to imaging large volumes of brain sections, including fluorescence. Only this suggested source can furnish the requirements, to the exclusion of other sources, because they are the sole manufacturer of the specialized parts and have factory trained technicians who are specifically trained to repair and maintain this system.
Background/Description of Requirement

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to make medical discoveries that improve people’s health and save lives. 

 

The NIMH Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Laboratory of Brain and Cognition investigators perform experiments in which they need to collect light microscope images of very large amounts of sectioned material. This is frequently of entire brains from marmosets and macaques. The material is cut into sections that may be 20-40 microns thick and mounted onto slides. Depending on the species, the section thickness, and whether all sections or a sampling are used, a brain may create several hundred sections. It may be necessary to image them in either brightfield or fluorescence. Depending on details of the experimental information required, it may be appropriate to image at relatively low magnification (2.5-5X), medium (10-20X), or high (40X) magnification, or to initially image at low magnification and subsequently image selected regions of interest at higher magnification. It may be appropriate to collect images from a single focal plane or to collect images from multiple focal planes at each position.

 

With the large volume of brain specimens being processed, the system requires prompt and timely repair and updates to keep it in well maintained working condition. The complex specificity of the system is such that only the Platinum Service Contract provided by Olympus will meet the required needs.  

 

The contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the tasks and deliverables described in this Statement of Work (SOW). The contractor shall provide maintenance support and guidance for the hardware and software on this system and support the on-going research performed on this system.

Interested parties may identify in writing their interest and capability in response to this requirement. 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, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), 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 closing date and must reference the announcement. Responses may be submitted electronically to the attention of the contract specialist. Fax responses will not be accepted.

All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.