Small Business Concern Sources Sought for a CT Scanning System

This Sources Sought (SS) Notice 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 Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) on behalf of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR).

The purpose of this SS is to identify qualified small business concerns, including Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) that are interested in and capable of providing a CT Scanning System in accordance with the below information.

The NHLBI does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this Sources Sought notice, the NHLBI may issue a Request for Quote (RFQ).

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

The NHLBI is seeking capability statements from all eligible small business concerns, particularly Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 334517 with a size standard of 500.

Based on the responses received from this SOURCES SOUGHT announcement, the proposed acquisition may be solicited as a Total Small Business Set-Aside. All eligible small business concerns responding to this Sources Sought announcement must have the capabilities to provide the equipment within ninety (90) days after receipt of the purchase order.

Background Information

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has a requirement for a CT scanning system. This system will be used for ultra-structural analysis of mineralized tissues in small specimens, mainly bones and teeth. The system selected for this purpose must have a substantial throughput rate to accommodate multiple users and the high number of individual samples that go into the analysis of dental and bone disorders associated with spontaneous or induced mutations.

Moreover, it is a requirement that the equipment is capable of rendering 3-dimensional volumes at a very high resolution to reveal minute differences in the tissue subjected to analysis. Additionally, the desired system can be combined with a reconstruction server that enables multiple users to access and reconstruct primary scan projections into 3D volumes simultaneously without interrupting the workflow on the scanner workstation.

Interested parties should submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement, not to exceed 10 single-sided pages (including all attachments) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to provide this equipment. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferably placed under the eligible small business concern’s name and address). Responses will be reviewed only by NIH personnel and will be held in a confidential manner.

All capability statements sent in response to this SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Jonathan Lear, Contract Specialist, at learj@nhlbi.nih.gov in either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), by July 6, 2012, 9:00am EST. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.