THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT AND IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTES. IAW FAR 6.302-1(a) - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements - this purchase order is intended to be awarded as a sole source procurement to ICONEUS for the purchase of ultrasound probes for NEI preexisting equipment to work with this system which is compatible with the Iconeus One System that’s currently in use from the same company. This product is required to develop portable functional imaging that can be readily used in combination with electrophysiological recordings in non-human primates within existing recording setups, to guide and complement these recordings. Recently, the use of ultrasonic plane waves transmitted at ultrafast frame rates was shown to highly increase Doppler ultrasound sensitivity to blood flows in small vessels in rodents. This ultrafast Doppler ultrasound can map brain vessels with a high resolution and is highly sensitive to measure blood variations due to the neurovascular coupling giving access to brain activation. By identifying regions of brain activation, Ultrafast Doppler was entering into the world of preclinical neuroimaging. This new technique is called functional ultrasound (fUS). The combination of many advantages, including unprecedented high spatio-temporal resolution, deep penetration, high sensitivity and portability provide unique information about brain function. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all proposals received by the date specified herein will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Interested parties may identify their interest and may submit a quote and/or capability statement by 3:00 PM EST, 28 July 2022, which shall be considered by the Government. Capability statements and quotes shall be sent via email to
[email protected].