66--DUAL-MODE EX-VIVO MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY SYSTEM Notice of Intent to Sole Source

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 3), James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx New York, intends to award a sole source contract under the authority of 41 U.S.C 253(c) (1) - FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, to AURORA SCIENTIFIC, Inc., 25 Industry Street, Aurora, , Ontario, Canada L4G 1X6. AURORA SCIENTIFIC will provide Dual-Mode Ex-Vivo Muscle Physiology Systems (2) to the James J Peters VA Medical Center, 130 West Kingsbridge Rd, Bronx, NY 10468. This action will result in a Firm-Fixed Price contract. This notice of intent is not a request for quotations; Interested parties may express their interest by providing a capabilities statement NLT Thursday March 8, 2018 at 5:00 PM EST. The capabilities statement must provide clear and unambiguous evidence to substantiate the capability of the party to provide the required supplies and services. A determination not to compete this proposed contract upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Verbal responses are not acceptable and will not be considered. When responding to this announcement, respondents should refer to Announcement 36C24218Q0274-AURORA SCIENTIFIC Notice of Intent. If after March 8, 2018, no ACCEPTABLE responses have been received in response to this announcement, Department of VA shall negotiate solely with AURORA SCIENTIFIC, Inc. NAICS 334519 Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing This notice of intent to award a sole source contract is not a request for competitive quotes. There will be no solicitation available for competitive quotes. Phone calls will not be accepted. The point of contact for this action is Contract Specialist, Paul Speedling who can be reached at contact@example.gov. The Government anticipates the award of a firm-fixed- price contract. A determination by the Government whether to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competition. AURORA SCIENTIFIC, INC. Dual-Mode Ex-vivo Muscle Physiology System STATEMENT OF WORK The GMR Service needs to purchase an ex-vivo small animal muscle physiology systems to measure muscle contraction as part of a new research project supported by a Merit Review Award from the Rehabilitation Research and Development Service to Dr. Christopher Cardozo (Grant B-2313-R). The equipment requested is an Aurora Scientific, Inc. System 1200A ex-vivo muscle physiology system which is vital to conducting the research in the above-named grant proposal. This instrument is not presently available at James J Peters VA and, as such, must be purchased in order to proceed with the funded research project. The instrument would be used for other projects for which funding is pending once procurement has been completed. The instrument is from Aurora Scientific, Inc., and to the best of our knowledge no similar instrument is available from other manufacturers. As such a limited sole source is requested. James J Peters VA wishes to purchase two systems for measuring muscle function after being removed from rats or mice. This is called ex-vivo muscle physiology and the system includes a chamber filled with fluid to keep the muscle moist and provide nutrients, electrical stimulators that deliver electrical impulses that cause muscle to contract, and a force gauge connected to a computer system to measure how strongly muscle contracts. There are very few manufacturers providing this category of instrumentation and only one that sells integrated systems that are easily assembled, designed specifically for the purpose of ex-vivo physiologic testing of muscle from mice and rats, and provides software to easily and automatically perform all necessary calculations from raw data. Aurora Scientific is the standard in the field. VA knows of no other source that provides fully integrated ex-vivo physiology systems for measuring muscle performance for rats and mice. The system includes the following components: Series 300 Dual-Mode Muscle Levers Series 400 Force Transducers Series 600 Data Acquisition Hardware and Software Series 700 Stimulators, constant current Series 800 Apparatus for muscle mechanics testing