Technology Operational Experimentation Events (TOEE) 25.1 experimentation series focused on Expeditionary Medicine

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Department of the Navy (DON) Office of Naval Research-Global (ONRG) Technology Operational Experimentation Events (TOEE) 25.1 experimentation series focused on Expeditionary Medicine THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. Purpose The U.S. Department of the Navy (DoN) issues this Request for Information (RFI) on behalf of the DoN Office of Naval Research - Global (ONRG). This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. This is NOT a Request for Quotations or Proposals. No solicitation document exists, and the Government may or may not issue a formal solicitation because of the responses received to this RFI. The Government will not pay for any response or demonstration expenses. All costs incurred responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense (the Government will transport company material to CONUS locations for the Advanced Capability Experiment (ACE) if required). Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future solicitation. Any information received will become the property of the Government and will not be returned to the submitter. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or sensitive information. Government technical experts drawn from staff within DoN and other Federal agencies may review responses. I. Introduction TOEE 25.1 is a series of events designed to provide decision quality information to Naval Research Establishment (NRE) leadership informing future Science and Technology (S&T) investments. It will be executed through live force experimentation conducted in operationally relevant scenarios and environments.? The Office of Naval Research Global, Experimentation and Analysis (ONRG E&A), partnered with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL), is focused on identifying technology requirements and capabilities to enable Expeditionary Medicine. TOEE 25.1 will specifically focus on ashore and afloat point of injury, Role 1 and 2 units to improve tactical triage, prolonged casualty care, enroute care, casualty evacuation, and prolonged holding and stabilization of patients as part of the Stand-in-Force (SIF) in support of Expeditionary Advanced Bases (EABs) and Advanced Naval Bases (ANB) operating in austere, communications-limited, environments. Expeditionary Medicine missions will require units, both medical (Marine Corps and Navy Medical Units/Battalions) and Ground, Logistic, Air, and Afloat Combat Elements personnel to have enhanced medical capabilities and technologies to improve treatment and care at point of injury through the Battalion/Unit Aid Stations and other deployed medical units operating at the tip of the spear. Missions will require units to operate in austere environments where size, weight, power, and low signature characteristics of technologies will be important considerations for units executing prolonged patient holding and prolonged casualty care (PCC) in a communications-limited or communications-denied environment. Units will operate in a resource-constrained environment where allocation of limited resources (transport, supplies, and personnel) will drive critical decision-making regarding survival of the force. The - Golden Hour principle that relied on uncontested lines of transport and resources for patient and casualty care and has been the operating status quo for the past several decades is no longer the rule. Operational units must be capable of operating under a new paradigm where PPC and PCC advancements employing state of the future multi-use and scalable capabilities, as well as enhanced training, tactics, techniques, and procedures. TOEE 25.1 does not seek to solve the entire set of challenges, but will focus on the following Problem Statement: - When enabled by novel technologies can Naval medical units increase the effectiveness of their tactical triage, damage control resuscitation, damage control surgery, casualty holding, and casualty evacuation? II. Scope In the TOEE 25.1 experimentation campaign, ONRG is looking for innovative, agile solutions, either in part or whole, to the following three mission objectives. Within each mission objective, the TOEE 25.1 experimentation series will explore technologies relevant to these problem sets and alternative concepts of employment through a series of experimentation events. Increase capacity of prolonged casualty care (PCC) and prolonged patient care (PPC) in EAB environment through forward deployment of low or no signature medical technologies Improve casualty evacuation within EAB environment Increase ability of forward EAB elements to provide trauma care (damage control resuscitation and damage control surgery) 1. Applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes: 339112 - - 339112 - Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing 621910 - - Ambulance Services 541715 - - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) 621493 - - Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers 2. Applicable Product Service Codes: 6515 - - Medical and Surgical Instruments, Equipment, And Supplies 6545 - - Replenishable Field Medical Sets, Kits, and Outfits Q529 - - Emergency Medicine Services Q702 - - Technical Medical Support III. Request for Information Topic Areas: Increase capacity of prolonged casualty care (PCC) and prolonged patient care (PPC) in EAB environment through forward deployment of low signature medical technologies 1.1- Increase numbers of critical and non-critical casualties who can be sustained at current physiological status for 72, 96, or 120 hours without resupply. Examples: artificial or shelf stable blood and blood products; portable oxygen generators; devices to maintain a constant temperature for fluids (to include blood) for multiple days without an external power source; equipment to allow for field sanitization and sterilization; small form factor patient warming devices; fluid warming devices appropriate for field use; voice to text technology to automate documentation of care, continuous health monitoring sensors Improve casualty evacuation within EAB environment 2.1- Increase length of time that an en-route care team can provide casualty treatment on air, ground, and surface transports and other lifts of opportunity (from 2 hours to 48 hours) 2.2- Increase effectiveness of patient movement within EAB environment Examples: equipment capable of continuous and/or automated patient monitoring without an external power source for 24 to 48 hours; technology for automated administration of drugs and fluids, technology to increase the interoperability of different types of ventilators and reduce the time to transfer patients; portable ultrasound with built in decision aids 3. Increase ability of forward EAB elements to provide trauma care (damage control resuscitation and damage control surgery) 3.1- Increase ability of forward EAB elements to provide damage control resuscitation for four or more critical casualties 3.2- Increase ability of forward EAB elements to provide damage control surgery for four or more critical casualties Examples: Technology to increase the ease of establishing a central line, especially for trauma victims; improved field infusion pumps; artificial intelligence technologies to predict complications among trauma patients. Across the three topic areas, ONRG is particularly interested in technologies that automate clinical data entry and decision-making aids, rapidly transforming data into decisions. ONRG is also interested in smart technology (sensors) which can automate the collection of physiological data or equipment that can automatically adjust based on data. ONRG is interested in learning about the availability of technologies with a technology readiness level (TRL) of five or greater with the capability to support the problem areas (listed above). ONRG intends to provide standout systems with an invitation to participate in the TOEE 25.1 experimentation series in FY25. The experimentation series will begin with a demonstration of technology as part of a Limited Technical Assessment (LTA) to government technology assessors. Successful technologies will participate in a Limited Objective Experiment (LOE), tentatively scheduled for February 2025. With a successful LOE, the technologies then participate in the Advanced Capability Experiment (ACE) that will tentatively take place in May 2025. ONRG may provide funding to participants for the ACE to support the travel, labor, and equipment or integration costs necessary to participate. *Please see Key Dates attachment for anticipated Event Schedule.* Submissions to the topic area must include a quad chart and white paper limited to ten pages including the following information (an example of requested quad and white paper are provided via appendix A): (1) Operational Relevance. Describe how the proposed technology or engineering innovation addresses one (or more) of the specific TOEE 25.1 Mission Objectives/Sub-Objectives. (2) Cost. Please provide two estimated costs. First, an estimate of costs to participate in TOEE 25.1 through the May 2025 ACE. These costs should not be technology development costs, but the cost for labor, travel, and shipping for technology participation in the ACE. Second, an estimate of the unit cost of a production prototype of the technology. For the purposes of this RFI, production prototype is a functional system level prototype with a representative form factor. For purposes of estimation, total prototype quantities shall range from 4-6 fieldable units. These estimates are not contractually binding, but the evaluators may use them as evaluation criteria to determine suitability for further experimentation. (3) System/Sub-Systems Architecture. Describe the systems, interfaces, and the data architecture of the technology or engineering innovation being submitted. Include diagrams, architectural views, or other graphical representations to describe the major systems, sub-systems, and interfaces. Submissions are not required to provide end-to-end solutions but should identify external interfaces that will ultimately be required for the technology or engineering innovation to function in the intended operational environment. If submitters have Systems Modeling Language (SysML) or Unified Modeling Language (UML) models for their system, they are encouraged to provide these as part of their submission. Identify the current Intellectual Property (IP) rights (open-competitive or closed-proprietary) that apply to each of the major systems, sub-systems, and interfaces. (4) Critical Technical Parameters. Describe the critical technical parameters that characterize the specific contribution of the proposed technology or engineering innovation. In tabular format, quantify the performance that has been demonstrated and describe the environment or conditions it has been tested under. If test data in a contested operational environment is not available, estimate the technical performance that may be immediately achievable. Include supplemental artifacts, such as specification sheets, data sheets, test reports, or other documentation that supports performance estimates. (5) Dependencies and Special Considerations. The Government will provide technical and operational assessment personnel, basic access to approved training areas and ranges to conduct experiments, basic venue infrastructure including frequency allocation services, intra-network connectivity, and shore power. Identify all other government furnished information (i.e., interface specifications, launch and recovery procedures, topside surveys, etc.) and/or equipment required to support the submission (e.g., unmanned system deployment from host platform, cold storage). TOEE 25.1 does not desire to conduct any testing in humans due to significant approval lead times incompatible with TOEE 25.1 timelines. Identify any significant certifications required prior to conducting a planned experiment (i.e., Medical Certifications, Laser Safety Review Board, Li-ion Battery Certification, potential spectrum issues, etc.). For each specific dependency or consideration, identify at least one feasible alternative (i.e. virtual or constructive event, test rigs, simulations, static displays) that would mitigate, for example, the uncertainty risk of operational asset availabilities. Following selection, the Government will provide submitters with a summary of range and support equipment that will be allocated to the specific submission. If the Submitters requirement for range support exceeds what has been allocated, the Submitter may acquire additional resources. The Government will work in good faith to identify requested resources and/or propose alternatives that meet the Submitters budgets. An extreme case might be that a required government asset is not available, and the costs to acquire a surrogate test asset are not affordable. The Government may then recommend the Submitter participate in TOEE 25.1 as a standalone, virtual, or constructive demonstration. (6) Technology and Integration Readiness Levels. Assess the current technology readiness level (TRL) of the major systems/sub-systems described in Section 2. Assess the current integration readiness level (IRL) of the critical interfaces also described in Section 2. For each estimate, describe whether the estimate is based on test data from a developmental (lab or simulation-based) or operational (test range or other with operational users) evaluation. If applicable, project the TRL and/or IRL achievable upon completion of the proposed submission. Include supplemental artifacts, such as technology readiness assessments, design reports, test reports, or other documentation that supports technical and interface maturity estimates. TRL and IRL definitions are provided in Appendix B. (7) Team. Submitters are encouraged to team amongst industry, academia, and government partners. Provide a brief description of the subject matter expertise that each member of the team provides and a brief description of the participating organizations. Identify existing contracts within the Department of Defense/DoN. (8) Limited Technical Assessment. Describe how the capability would be demonstrated/executed at LTA, if selected. LTAs will be Virtual, and it will be on the vendor to design and describe the demonstration. Technologies selected for LTA will have a maximum of a 2-hour period in which to demonstrate their technology and answer questions from the LTA Core Team participants. The Core Team will consist of the TOEE Team (ONRG EA, ONR, and MCWL), warfighters, and technology subject matter experts. The team will provide detailed LTA instructions upon completion of tech selection (estimated 25 October 2024). Submission Requirements Submissions in response to this RFI must be submitted via email to Brandon Hayes at Brandon.d.hayes11.civ@us.navy.mil and Jonathan Faranda at jonathan.d.faranda.civ@us.navy.mil by 5:00 PM Eastern Time 30 Sep 2024. Appendix A: Requested Data Formats 1. Quad. Please see the below attached format (Microsoft PowerPoint) for the requested technology quad.