MULTI-PHOTON MESOSCOPE HIGH-SPEED VDAQ AND SCANIMAGE SOFTWARE UPGRADE

DESCRIPTION:

INTRODUCTION

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS

The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 541519 – Other Computer Related Services with a Size Standard of $34 million.

 This intended procurement will not be set aside for small business.

 REGULATORY AUTHORITY

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6—Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization).

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2025-05, dated August 07, 2025.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

Background: The Plenz lab's Multi-Photon Mesoscope requires a critical upgrade involving the installation of a high-speed vDAQ computer card, essential for fast and robust data acquisition and imaging control given the dual-plane imaging capabilities of the Mesoscope. The advanced card also requires an upgrade of the existing ScanImage Software. The higher performance need has been a critical limitation of the dual-plane capabilities of the Mesoscope. This dual-plane capability is unique to the system as it allows to simultaneously record at cellular spatial resolution from multiple optical planes in the brain.

The existing Mesoscope facilitates critical brain imaging studies in awake rodents. The upgrade replaces the underperforming vDAQ with a new advanced version provided exclusively by Thorlabs Inc., integrated with ScanImage software. The established robust performance after the upgrade will allow other faculty members to utilize the scope. Instabilities and down-time due to the current vDAC prevented the faculty-wide use of the Mesoscope.

This upgrade needs to fulfill crucial aspects of compatibility and the faster vDAC is an improved version of the existing vDAQ card currently installed in the system. This product is from the previous order for the manufacturer (MBF Bioscience) and guaranteed compatibility with the existing software ScanImage which handles all imaging controls of the system.

Purchase Description: Purchase the High-Speed vDAQ Upgrade and ScanImage Premium Software Package for Multi-Photon Mesoscope.

1. Trade name: High-Speed vDAQ ScanImage Premium Bundle
2. Brand name: vDAQ™ - MBF Bioscience
3. Manufacture: MBF Bioscience
4. Model and Part numbers: VDAQH-SCAN-PREM

Specific Requirements:

1. Fully compatible with existing dual-plane Multi-Photon Mesoscope
2. High-speed data acquisition capabilities
3. Exclusive integration with ScanImage Premium software package
4. Comprehensive control over imaging, stimulation parameters, synchronization, and data analysis.
5. Verification of compatibility with existing hardware and software
6. Functionally of the system will be warranted once installation/upgrades are complete.
7. The vendor will provide all of the necessary installation and conduct all of the  testing of the system to ensure that it is fully operational and in working condition.

Delivery Date:

30 days after receipt of purchase order.

Level of Effort

Estimated at 1-2 days for installation.

Government Responsibilities:

• Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform according to the Purchase Description listed above.
• The government will not be responsible for furnishing any data, property or facilities.
• The government will not be responsible for reviewing or approving any reports or final products  generated under the contract.
• The Plenz Laboratory will provide the workspace where the new Bergamo II system will be Installed onto the existing 2-photon imaging system. 
• No computers, telephones or workspace areas will be needed to complete this task.
• Vendor Technicians will need access to the NIH campus through the  normal contractor / visitor process. They will also be provided with access and direction to the PNRC Building and to the final room destination for the system.

Reporting Requirements:

The contractor will not be required to provide any written progress reports for the completion of this task.

OTHER CONSIDERARTIONS:

Travel :

There will be travel to the Plenz laboratory for installation and repeated, as needed, until the system is fully operational and completed.

Key Personnel:

Service technician should be certified in servicing all systems listed in the Specific Requirements.

Additionally, Key personnel will be staff scientist Dr. Tiago Lins-Ribeiro from the Plenz’s laboratory

Information System Security Plan:

The contractor will not be required to develop, have access to or host any federal information systems, security policies or procedures in order to complete the job task.

Data Rights:

No data rights are required for this acquisition

Section 508—Electronic and Information Technology Standards:

N/A

Publications and Publicity:

N/A

Confidentiality of Information:

N/A

INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION

The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, ThorLabs, Inc., is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the services required by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).

The intended source is:

ThorLabs inc.

43 Sparta Avenue

Newton, NJ 07860

Email: MEberle@thorlabs.com

The essential characteristics of the Multi-Photon Mesoscope High-Speed vDAQ and ScanImage Software Upgrade system provided by ThorLabs Inc., that limit the availability to a sole source, is that Thorlabs, Inc., is the only vendor that can furnish the requirements, and is the only source authorized to work on the systems listed within this requirement. 

Additionally, the Plenz lab's Multi-Photon Mesoscope requires a critical upgrade involving the installation of a high-speed vDAQ computer card, essential for fast and robust data acquisition and imaging control given the dual-plane imaging capabilities of the Mesoscope. The advanced card also requires an upgrade of the existing ScanImage Software.

The new vDAQ is fully compatible with existing dual-plane Multi-Photon Mesoscope custom-designed by Thorlabs, Inc. and the new vDAQ is fully compatibility with the ScanImage software that controls Mesoscope operation.

Therefore, the essential characteristics of the Multi-Photon Mesoscope High-Speed vDAQ and ScanImage Software Upgrade limits the availability to a sole source.

CLOSING STATEMENT

THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Unique Entity ID UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size.

Responses must include the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture). All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

All responses must be received by the closing date, August 28, 2025 , at 12:00 PM EST and must reference the solicitation number, 75N95025Q00229.

Responses must be submitted electronically to Diedra S. Prophet, Contract Specialist, at diedra.prophet@nih.gov, and Robin Knightly, Contracting Officer, at robin.knightly@nih.gov.

U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.