Notice of Intent to Sole-Source: Wireless telemetry system for socially housed small-animal monitoring

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION OR A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS.

GENERAL

This notice is issued in accordance with Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 12.201-1(c)(2), advertising the Government's intent to issue an award on a sole source basis under the authority established in RFO 12.102(a). The National Institutes of Health, Specialized Scientific Information Technology (SSIT) Division anticipates issuing a single Purchase Order (PO) to the following entity:
Harvard Bioscience, Inc.
DBA Data Sciences International
119 - 14th Street NW
St. Paul, MN 55112
BACKGROUND

Researchers within the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) require an integrated telemetry and data acquisition system to support ongoing research activities involving physiological monitoring of small-animal research subjects. The research requires the reliable collection, monitoring, and analysis of biopotential, temperature, and activity data using implantable telemetry devices, along with synchronized video monitoring of experimental subjects. This platform must meet the following requirements:

• The system must provide implantable telemetry devices capable of acquiring two biopotential channels, temperature, and activity data simultaneously from a single research subject.
• The system must support a minimum battery life of four weeks per implant to accommodate the duration of ongoing study protocols without requiring surgical replacement.
• The data acquisition software must be capable of directly interfacing with the specific telemetry hardware and implant communication protocol used by the laboratory, without requiring third-party middleware or custom integration.
• The system must support simultaneous synchronized video capture across multiple network cameras alongside physiological data streams, within a single unified software environment.
• The platform must provide post-acquisition review and analysis capability for temperature, central nervous system (CNS), and glucose telemetry channels within the same software suite used for data acquisition.
• The vendor must provide a software enhancement/maintenance agreement to ensure continued compatibility, technical support, and updates for the proprietary software platform.
• The vendor must be able to provide onsite installation and hands-on training to ensure proper system setup and correct operation by Government personnel.

Based on market research, only Data Sciences International (DSI), doing business as Harvard Bioscience, is capable of providing the SoHo-X02 implantable telemetry devices together with the Ponemah data acquisition software required for this research. The devices and the software platform are proprietary to DSI, and the implants are designed to operate exclusively with DSI's IT infrastructure. No other manufacturer produces implantable telemetry devices that are compatible with the software platform, and no third-party vendor can supply, service, or integrate the SoHo telemetry hardware into an equivalent data acquisition environment. Because the physiological data channels, video monitoring module, and post-acquisition analysis tools must all function within the same Ponemah software instance to ensure data integrity and synchronized recording, an equivalent system assembled from multiple vendors would not provide the required interoperability. Therefore, only one source is available to furnish these services.

RESPONSES

There will not be a solicitation or competitive Request for Quotation (RFQ) issued as a result of this announcement. Any responses or inquiries to this notice must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that competition will be advantageous to the Government.

Notwithstanding the stated intent, if other organizations believe they can fully meet the Government's requirement, they must submit written documentation of their capabilities. The capabilities statement must contain sufficient documentation to establish a bona fide capability to fulfill the requirement and must be received by the response date listed in this posting. A general statement which merely states the entity is capable will not be sufficient. A determination not to compete with this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.

NIH will not be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this notice. Acknowledgement of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the evaluation of the information received. Interested parties may respond and provide a capability statement no later than the date specified in this notice. Emails must reference the announcement number in the subject line. This is not an RFQ, and this announcement does not commit the Government to award a contract.