65--Extended until September 10, 2010 1pm EST

Notice of Intent to Sole Source Requirement The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Boston Healthcare System, VISN 1 Contracting Activity intends to negotiate a sole source contract under Simplified Acquisition Procedures and the authority of FAR Part 6.302-1, only one responsible source for the ImageXpressMicro™ widefield imaging system from MDS Analytical. The associated NAICS code for this medical equipment is 423450. The vendor, Government Scientific Source, Inc. is a Veteran Owned Small Business, and they are located at 12351 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Description of equipment requirements: The ImageXpressMicro™ widefield imaging system from MDS Analytical Technologies is the only system available today that provides all of the following: " A fully-integrated, widefield imaging system for automated acquisition and analysis of images. Optically-encoded linear motors, for superior precision and accuracy in X, Y, and Z positioning, with better than 100 nm resolution in all three axes. " Compatibility with oil immersion objectives for collecting images in a research mode. " High-speed firmware-controlled auto-focus with a dedicated laser, to minimize sample bleaching. " Custom designed optics for optimal illumination and signal detection. " A 300W Xenon arc lamp for illumination from UV to near-IR " A five-position filter cube changer with user-selected filter sets " Software-controlled linear objective changer which protects unselected objectives from contact with the stage (up to 4 objectives). " Optional integration with an automated plate-loading robot. " Transmitted light option capable of both brightfield and phase contrast imaging. " Robot-compatible environmental control option which provides temperature, CO2 and humidity control. " Robot-compatible fluidics option with heated compound plate holders and compatibility with 96- and 384- format pipette tips. " The MetaXpressTM software controls both image acquisition and analysis. It is built on the backbone of our market-leading MetaMorph® imaging software. Image processing is compatible with a variety of platforms including Microsoft VISTA 64-bit. " The MetaXpressPowerCoreTM software, which distributes MetaXpress image processing jobs to a multi-CPU environment and is built in a scalable server-client approach. " The MDCStore™ enterprise-level database, for data management and image storage, automatically links analysis results to original images; segmentation overlays and annotations, compatible with Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle platforms " Seamless integration with AcuityXpress cellular informatics software (optional), an advanced package for data mining, analysis, statistics, and visualization. A firm fixed price contract with no option years is anticipated and shall be awarded. It is the Government's belief that only the proposed candidate possesses the required capabilities to successfully meet this requirement. It is the Government's intention to solicit and negotiate with only this source. The vendor - Government Scientific Source is a veteran owned small business. This is not a Request for Proposal. However, any other veteran owned small businesses that can provide an equal product must submit their technical capabilities, to include, technical specifications of their product, past performance information, price and delivery time. This information will be reviewed by the Government's technical representatives for consideration for future requirements. Email statements are preferred. Statements are due no later than September 10, 2010 by 1:00pm EST. Phone inquiries will not be accepted. Email: contact@example.gov Contracting Officer VISN 1 Contracting Activity. This is not a solicitation; it is a Notice of Intent to Sole Source requirement.