Clinical Science Workstation Diskpack Configuration and mDixon Software Upgrade

This is a notice of intent, not a request for a proposal. A solicitation document will not be issued and proposals will not be requested. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) on behalf of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a non-competitive basis to Philips Medical Systems, 595 Miner Road, Highland Heights, OH 44143 for a clinical science workstation diskpack configuration and mDixon software upgrade. The clinical science workstation diskpack configuration consists of a HP XW8600 workstation, diskpack boxes and an extended disk drive cable. This hardware configuration is required to permit continuity of ongoing clinical studies and for the Longitudinal Study on Aging. Specifically, it allows for the MRI software to be upgraded to the latest release while maintaining the accessibility of the current software. This is critical as changes incorporated into the latest software release could result in systematic errors in data collected for ongoing studies and the operation of both software releases is necessary to perform a thorough comparison for quality assurance measures. The hardware is a custom research configuration that can only be supplied by Philips Medical Systems as it requires proprietary specifications to interface with NIA's existing Philips MRI equipment. The mDixon software is required for the investigation of body composition studies in NIA's Clinical Research Branch. It allows for the acquisition and processing of images using NIA's Philips magnetic resonance imaging scanner, permitting large regions of anatomic coverage in short imaging times resulting in spatially resolved maps of muscle and fat volume ratios. Philips Medical Systems is the sole provider of the proprietary software. This software is the only software available that can interface with NIA's magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The acquisition is being conducted under simplified acquisition procedures using FAR 12 and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competition Requirement. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this synopsis by submitting a statement of capabilities on or before 10:00 AM E.T., May 25, 2012 to Korriise LaRoche, larochek@mail.nih.gov. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain sufficient detail to allow the NIDA/NIA to determine if it can meet the above unique specifications described herein. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely with the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award from the NIDA, the vendor must be registered in the Online Representations and Certifications Applications (ORCA) at http://orca.bpn.gov. In addition, the vendor must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) at ww.ccr.gov. Please reference announcement number NOI-2554438 on all correspondence.