6525--Sources Sought - Radformation Software Annual Subscription Brand Name Only

Notice of Sources Sought The purpose of this Sources Sought Announcement is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), Small Business Manufacturers, other Small Businesses interested and capable of providing items requested, as well as any large businesses. The results from this source sought notice will be used to determine set-aside. The intended contract is a firm-fixed price supply purchase. The SBA Non-Manufacturer Rule is applicable, and a waiver will not be sought for this potential acquisition. The Department of Veterans Affairs, NCO20 is looking for BRAND NAME ONLY sources (Radformation or authorized service providers) of the following: Radformation Advanced Planning Bundle Software Annual Subscription (Base + 4 OY) including: ClearCheck ClearCalc AutoContour EZFluence Publisher: Radformation, Inc. Quantity: 1 Statement of Work Contract Title. RADformation Background. In the dynamic and high-stakes environment of oncology, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and safety is paramount. VA Puget Sound s mission to provide cutting-edge treatment and improve patient outcomes necessitates the adoption of advanced tools and technologies that enhance the precision, efficiency, and efficacy of radiotherapy. Radformation products offer significant benefits that address critical needs within the radiotherapy workflow, making them an indispensable asset for our cancer center. 1. Enhanced Treatment Planning and Accuracy: a. Automation and Consistency: Radformation products, such as AutoContour and ClearCheck, automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks. This automation ensures consistency and reduces the likelihood of human error in treatment planning, thereby enhancing the overall accuracy of radiotherapy. b. Improved Contouring: Accurate contouring is vital for effective radiation therapy. Radformation's AutoContour provides AI-driven auto-segmentation, which significantly improves the speed and accuracy of contouring, allowing for more precise targeting of tumors and sparing of healthy tissues. 2. Increased Efficiency and Productivity: a. Time Savings: By automating routine tasks and streamlining the workflow, Radformation products free up valuable time for our clinical staff. This allows medical physicists, dosimetrists, and radiation oncologists to focus on more complex and critical aspects of patient care, thereby increasing overall productivity. b. Workflow Integration: Radformation products integrate seamlessly with existing treatment planning systems, minimizing disruptions, and facilitating smooth transitions between different stages of the treatment process. c. Patient Throughput: Increased efficiency in the treatment planning process means that our cancer center can treat more patients without compromising on the quality of care, thereby reducing wait times, and improving access to life-saving treatments. 3. Enhanced Quality Assurance and Compliance: a. Comprehensive QA Tools: Tools like ClearCheck provide comprehensive plan evaluation and quality assurance, ensuring that all treatment plans meet stringent clinical standards and regulatory requirements. This helps in maintaining high levels of patient safety and treatment efficacy. b. Regulatory Compliance: Radformation products assist in ensuring compliance with various regulatory and accreditation standards, which is crucial for maintaining the cancer center s reputation and operational license. 4. Staff Satisfaction and Retention: a. Reduced Burnout: Automating labor-intensive and repetitive tasks helps reduce burnout and job fatigue among clinical staff, leading to higher job satisfaction and retention rates. A more satisfied and well- supported staff is better equipped to provide exceptional patient care. Scope. The contractor s, scope of work includes only the Radiation Oncology Department, at the VAPSHCS. The installation will be performed remotely by Radformation staff requiring the assistance of local IT. This project consists of a remote installation of the Radformation software, training, and implementation of that software in the Aria/Eclipse environment. Specific Tasks. Task 1: Initial Assessment and Planning: Project Planning: Develop a detailed project plan that outlines the scope, timeline, milestones, and resource requirements for the implementation. Task 2: Procurement and Installation: Hardware and Software Setup: Coordinate with Radformation and the cancer center s IT department to ensure that all hardware and software requirements are met. This includes installing the software, ensuring compatibility with existing systems, and setting up any necessary hardware. As a note, the hardware requirements will most likely involve hardware already in use in the Radiation Oncology department. Task 3: Integration and Configuration: System Integration: Integrate Radformation products with the cancer center s existing treatment planning systems and electronic health records (EHR) systems. Ensure seamless data flow and interoperability. Customization: Configure the Radformation products to align with the center s specific protocols, workflows, and treatment planning requirements. Task 4: Training and Education: Training Programs: Develop and implement comprehensive training programs for all users, including radiation oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists, and support staff. Training should cover the functionality, features, and best practices for using Radformation products. Ongoing Education: Provide ongoing education and training sessions to keep staff updated on new features, updates, and advanced functionalities. Performance Monitoring. Products installed by Radformation will be continually monitored by Radiation Oncology staff to ensure that it is operational clinically. This also includes regular communication to and from the vendor ensuring that any patches and upgrades are performed promptly as they become available. Upon completion of software installations and upgrades Radiation Oncology staff will work with Radformation support to ensure that systems are operational. Security Requirements. The contractor employees shall not have access to VA sensitive or computer information and will not require routine access to VA Facilities. The contractor employees shall require intermittent access only and will be escorted by VA employees while at VA Facilities. No background investigation is required. Privacy Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1). Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract. The term security incident means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies in this contract. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE). N/A Other Pertinent Information or Special Considerations. N/A Identification of Possible Follow-on Work. N/A Identification of Potential Conflicts of Interest (COI). No Conflicts e. Inspection and Acceptance Criteria. The COTR is responsible for certifying that the work done under the contract is performed to time and standard. They are also responsible to assure the inspection and acceptance of products provided incidental to services Safety and Infection Control. Radformation poses no additional safety risks and in fact their products play a crucial role in mitigating patient safety risks in the radiotherapy process through various mechanisms. These products enhance accuracy, consistency, and quality assurance, addressing several critical aspects of patient safety. Here s how: Automation and Consistency: Reduction of Human Error: Automation of routine and repetitive tasks minimizes the potential for human error. For instance, AutoContour automatically segments anatomical structures, ensuring consistent and precise contours that are critical for accurate treatment planning. Standardization: Automated tools standardize processes across different patients and operators, reducing variability and ensuring that each patient receives the same high level of care. Improved Contouring Accuracy: AI-Driven Auto-Segmentation: AutoContour uses advanced AI algorithms to provide highly accurate and consistent contouring of tumors and critical structures. This precision is essential for targeting the tumor effectively while sparing healthy tissues, thereby reducing the risk of radiation-induced side effects. Comprehensive Plan Evaluation: Quality Assurance Checks: ClearCheck provides comprehensive quality assurance by evaluating treatment plans against clinical and regulatory standards. It checks for dose constraints, overlap violations, and other critical parameters, ensuring that the plan adheres to the prescribed safety guidelines. Error Detection: By automatically identifying potential issues in treatment plans, ClearCheck allows for timely corrections before treatment delivery, preventing errors that could compromise patient safety. Dose Monitoring and Verification: Accurate Dose Calculation: Radformation tools help ensure that the calculated dose accurately matches the planned dose. Any discrepancies can be identified and rectified before treatment, preventing underdosage or overdosage. Integration and Interoperability: Seamless Data Flow: Integration with existing treatment planning systems and electronic health records (EHR) ensures seamless data flow and reduces the risk of data entry errors. This interoperability facilitates accurate and timely information exchange, which is crucial for maintaining patient safety. Unified Workflow: By integrating with existing workflows, Radformation products ensure that all safety checks and balances are maintained without adding complexity or disrupting the treatment process. Place of Performance. Place of performance will be at: VA PSHCS, Seattle, WA. Building 33 Rooms 59 (Dosimetry), 49 Physics) and 50 (Physics). Period of Performance. Start date for the services is estimated to be last quarter of 2024. Services will run to the last date of the fiscal year and the next option year will pick up on 01 OCT. This is a base year plus 4 option years renewable by BioMed. Document Delivery Schedule. The first two months following the award. Records Management Citations to pertinent laws, codes, and regulations such as 44 U.S.C chapters 21, 29, 31 and 33; Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a); 36 CFR Part 1222 and Part 1228. Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S. Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract using Government IT equipment and/or Government records. Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the Freedom of Information Act. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract. The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this contract. The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data. Contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies, including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or state of completion [draft, final, etc.]. No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. The Agency and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records schedules. Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, this contract. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information. Required Information in Your Response to Sources Sought: In order to be considered a valid source that can impact the set-aside determination of a possible future solicitation, potential contractors shall provide, at a minimum, the following information to contact@example.gov: 1) Company name, address, and point of contact, phone number, e-mail address, and UEI. 2) Please identify your company s size in comparison to the anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services. To be considered a small business your company must have less than 34 millions in annual receipts. This notice is to determine the marketplace for this specific requirement. Please check one of the following: [ ] yes [ ] no Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) [ ] yes [ ] no Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) [ ] yes [ ] no Small Business Manufacturers [ ] yes [ ] no All other Small Business (SB) [ ] yes [ ] no Other than Small Business 3) Any Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses or Veteran Owned Businesses who respond to a solicitation on this project must provide a SBA certification and be registered with U.S. Small Business Administration Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) located at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/. 4) If not the manufacturer/publisher, only authorized representatives/providers/distributors of the manufacturer/publisher will be considered. Please provide a proof of authorized reseller letter from the manufacturer/publisher. 5) Please provide completed above courtesy quote in response to this request to evaluate price reasonableness for any set-aside determination. 6) Please provide a narrative on whether your company meets the definition of a nonmanufacturer in accordance with 13 CFR § 121.406(b) below. Does not exceed 500 employees; Is primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of item being supplied; Takes ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practice; and The Government is not obligated to nor will it pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this sources sought notice. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Notice to Potential Offerors: All Offerors who provide goods or services to the United States Federal Government must be registered in the System Award Management (SAM located on the web at www.sam.gov). It is desirable that any Offeror to have completed their business Online Representations and Certifications Application in the System for Award Management (SAM). Performance Address: Puget Sound VA Health Care System 1660 S Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 Point of Contact: Peter Park Contracting Officer contact@example.gov Response Deadline: 07/25/2024 by 3:00pm PDT