99--The US Army Directorate ARIEM is in need of equipment for field assessment of total activity and sleep state of soldiers to optimize field rations and soldier nutrition status.

Introduction: Pursuant to FAR Subpart 13.106-1(b)(1), the U.S. Army RDECOM Contracting Center, Natick Contracting Division, on behalf of the Natick Soldier System Center (NSSC), intends to award a firm fixed price purchase order on a sole source basis to: Sleep Performance Inc. Honolulu, HI 96813-4120 THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. No solicitation document is available. 1. Nature and description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs: Equipment for field assessment of total activity and sleep state of soldiers to optimize field rations and soldier nutrition status. Sleep actigraphs must be field portable, water and shock resistant. Actigraphs have to be wrist worn (for less invasive movement) and similar to a wrist watch in size. Wearers name/ ID must be programmable and available for on- wrist display with adjustable luminance. Actigraphs must measure activity, sleep status, and cognitive state continuously with easy pushbutton download (does not require removal of wrist band) of collected data over the course of thirty days. Actigraph must include internal rechargeable backup battery to insure continuous data collection. The intent is to award a Firm Fixed Price type contract for 59,100.00. 2. A demonstration that the proposed contractor is the only source available to provide these services or goods (i.e. unique qualifications, proprietary rights, etc.): Fatigue Science is the only manufacturer of a sleep actigraph that meets the requirements of the Military Nutrition Division. 3. A description of the market research that was conducted and the results, or a statement of the reason a market research was not conducted: There are three manufacturers of sleep Actigraphs: Fatigue Science (ReadiBand), Actisleep (ActiGraph) and Phillips Respironics (Actiwatch). All actigraphs are wrist worn but the ReadiBand is significantly more compact than the Actiwatch and ActiGraph (1/3 larger). The display on all three are luminescent however, the Readiband is adjustable and programmable which is critical for clear subject identification and less intrusive for night operations. All have similar battery life (30 days), except ReadiBand has an internal rechargeable backup to insure continuous data collection. All measure activity and sleep status continuously, but the ReadiBand can also determine cognitive state with its Sleep Activity Fatigue and Task Effectiveness (SAFTE) model. The key feature that only ReadiBand has is the pushbutton download of data. The download requires no physical connection to an external device and no removal of the band from the wrist. This significantly reduces the intervention of the investigator with the subject and helps ensure consistent and objective scoring across subjects and investigator personnel. Fatigue Science was the only manufacturer to meet our requirements at a reasonable cost. 4. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition: N/A 5. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required: Not feasible at our level. 6. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement to the U.S. Army RDECOM Contracting Center, Natick Contracting Division via e-mail to: contact@example.gov no later than 11:00 a.m. on August 31th, 2010. Contracting Office Address: RDECOM Contracting Center - Natick CCRD-NA-SU, Natick Contracting Division Kansas Street, Building 1 Natick, MA 01760-5011 Point of Contact: Sean Auld, Contract Specialist contact@example.gov