Anyone wishing to respond to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence they can meet these requirements. Interested parties have until September 21, 2007 to submit their qualifications and capabilities in writing. Such qualification and capabilities will be used solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. Fax responses to the attention of Wayne Berry at
+1 (555) 000-0000 or email at
contact@example.gov. Oral communication will not be accepted. If there are no further responses to this notice within the time designated, negotiation will commence with Vicon Motion Systems. EQUIPMENT REQUEST: VICON MX MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM 1. Nature of equipment. We propose to purchase a motion capture system that will modernize and advance our shared central core facility, the Motion Study Laboratory of the Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Center located in the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. A state-of-the-art digital motion capture system will insure uninterrupted data collection, facilitate computationally intense data processing and provide for a greater number of collaborative projects within the rich and extensive local research community that concentrates on musculoskeletal health and motor control. This new equipment will achieve our long-term objectives of developing sophisticated musculoskeletal controllers for surface and implanted FES systems and adding real-time biofeedback capabilities to extend our current protocols to address the priorities of returning veterans from OIF/OEF, especially as they relate to new projects involving advanced limb prosthetics and orthotic systems. The instrument that we are requesting is a motion capture system that records and analyzes 3-dimensional (3-D) movements and the forces associated with those movements. This system, the VICON MX, records human movement by tracking reflective markers attached to skeletal landmarks of study participants. An array of specialized video cameras captures this movement as participants move through a calibrated volume while the system digitally reconstructs the motion in 3-D. The system's data collection and analysis software consists of programs to control data capture and upload 3D photogrammetric calibration, fully automated 3D marker reconstruction, and specialized biomechanical models of the human body to display and calculate results. Results from an analysis of lower extremity mechanics include kinematic data such as center of mass motion, and hip, knee, and ankle joint angles during walking, and kinetic data such as joint forces, moments and powers. In addition, spatiotemporal data can be calculated such as gait velocity, step and stride times, stance and swing times, and single and double support times. Furthermore, the recorded movements can be mapped to a project-specific 3D model of a human, e.g. adapted to specific applications such as reaching or grasping. The requested motion capture system, the VICON MX, will be a new digitally based imaging system that will replace our current motion capture system, the VICON 370E. Critical improvements with the new system will be increased accuracy, efficiency, real time operation and flexibility of motion capture research. Our current system is 15 years old, its analog components are failing, and the system is lacking key advantages available in modern systems such as real-time output for biofeedback, virtual reality or close-loop control applications. The instrument is a VICON MX 16 camera motion capture system. Includes 16 VICON MX13 Cameras with 1.3 MegaPixel resolution, VICON Workstation Software (Site License), VICON MX Biomechanics Accessory Kit, 1 year of "Complete" Service Level Support Agreement, VICON On-Site Installation and Training. VICON Polygon 3.0 Full Version Muscle modeling and report generation module VICON PECS Control ActiveX interface for other programs MXControl component Enhanced data collection with 3rd party capture devices such as force plates, EMG etc., permits selection of active channels, date rates, gains 4. Personnel qualified to operate equipment/interpret experimental results. All of the Investigators listed above are qualified to interpret the experimental results obtained with the equipment. Half (6) of the investigators listed above have operated similar systems and can easily come up to speed with the new equipment. In addition, the following personnel are also qualified to operate the equipment: Set-up of the system will be accomplished by the vendor and is included in the price of the instrument. Dr. Ronald Triolo (Director of the Motion Study Laboratory at the Cleveland FES Center, Dr. Elizabeth Hardin, and Mr. Rudi Kobetic (Technical Director of the Motion Study Laboratory) will actively guide the vendor through the installation process and integrate it into the existing instrumentation in the Motion Study Laboratory. Their experiences in motion capture tasks include setup, collection of motion data, and managing of all equipment, maintenance of paper documents (e.g. informed consent, data collection protocol and anthropometric measurement forms) and redundant backups of electronic data, transfer of data to collaborators, training and supervision of students or other staff to assist with data reduction, creation of gait reports, creation and continued updating of outcome parameters within a gait database and summary of data for presentations, grant submissions, and papers. They have worked with similar data capture systems in studies involving various populations including trans-tibial and transfemoral amputees, and paralysis secondary to SCI, stroke or multiple sclerosis.
