This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified small business concerns including 8(a), HUBZone or Service-Disabled Veteran-owned business concerns that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NCI does not intend to award a contract based on responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This requirement is assigned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 511210 with a size standard of $41.5 million being considered. NCI may issue a request for quotation (RFQ) as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NCI shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice or the NCI’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. 1.0 BRAND NAME OR EQUAL This requirement is for the procurement of the brand name or equivalent software described in section 4.0. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.211-6, Brand Name or Equal (AUG 1999) is applicable to this requirement. 2.0 BACKGROUND The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Laboratory of Pathology, requires AI-powered image analysis software to perform digital pathology via image analysis on patient tissue to assist with standardizing clinical research processes. This software will aid pathologists in providing more accurate clinical research data to clinicians within the NIH and medical institutions worldwide. 3.0 TYPE OF ORDER This is a Firm-Fixed-Price Purchase Order. 4.0 SPECIAL ORDER REQUIREMENTS The software licenses described in section 4.1 shall be compatible with Hamamatsu NanoZoomer s210 Brightfield Slide Scanner for digital pathology and shall be available to an unlimited number of NCI users. 4.1 PRODUCT FEATURES/SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS : One (1) 12-month Octotopix software License The software shall: Allow pathologists to manually annotate the field-of-view (FOV) of the microscopic tumor images to pinpoint the location of important microscopic features at different sizes. Include multiplex/virtual double staining to simultaneously identify specific protein abnormalities, to determine the state of immune cells as well as the state of immunoactive molecular expression, while bypassing the labor-intensive real histology staining process. Be compatible with Windows operating system which is used by the National Cancer Institute. Be compatible with Brightfield and Fluorescence Microscopy, allowing pathologist to analyze chemical and fluorescence stained slides. Sync (align) multiple slides and navigate them side-by-side in synchrony to assist pathologist in determining nonspecific and overlapping microscopic features between two tissue sections from the same patient that often pose challenges in routine microscopic evaluation of tissue sections. Include pre-set calibrated image analysis software for the following: Estrogen-Receptor (ER) Breast Cancer Identification using Immunohistochemistry staining. Progesterone-Receptor (PR) Breast Cancer Identification using Immunohistochemistry staining. Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (Her2) Breast Cancer Identification using Immunohistochemistry staining. Marker of proliferation of antigen Ki-67 to determine tumor cell proliferation in immunohistochemistry and Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. Separating Tumor and Stroma in immunohistochemistry stained breast cases. Identification of Lymph node metastasis in Hematoxylin and Eosin Staining for Breast and Colorectal cancer. One (1) 12-month Translational Research Software License The software shall include 2000 slide volume of biomarkers allowing LP the capability to create new image analysis algorithms using an artificial intelligence toolbox that supports Tissue Microarray analysis and alignment of serial tissue sections based off of the National Institutes of Health patient population. 4.2 DELIVERY / INSTALLATION Any physical deliverables such as CD-ROMs shall be delivered to the Technical Point of Contact (TPC), TBD at award . The software installation shall be performed in collaboration with Hamamatsu to ensure proper integration with the Nanozoomer s210 slide scanner. 4.3 TRAINING Training shall occur within 14 days of installation for eleven (11) pathologists, nine (9) residents and six (6) technical personnel. All training expenses, including materials and/or travel expenses, shall be included in the quoted price. 5.0 RESPONSE DELIVERY POINT Capability statements shall be submitted via email to Contract Specialist, Adam Hernandez, at
[email protected] no later than 9:00 A.M. EST on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 (07/08/2020) . All information furnished must be in writing and must contain enough detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the unique specifications described herein. Please reference number 75N91020Q00118 on all correspondence. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, an RFQ may be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).