Material Properties and Tolerance Criteria for Brain Tissue

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (hereinafter referred to as the “NHTSA”) intends to negotiate a cost reimbursement type contract with Columbia University to provide data from advancements in research and development to improve the Simulated Injury Monitor (SIMon) finite element (FE) head model, which is a tool that incorporates NHTSA’s latest understanding of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) mechanisms to predict the injury potential of car crashes. NHTSA’s Human Injury Research Division (HIRD) has developed the Simulated Injury Monitor (SIMon), a computational finite element model to predict the injury potential of crash loading. This contract will: 1) Measure constitutive properties of brain anatomical structures: Using two complimentary methods (sinusoidal atomic force microscope indentation and stress relaxation micro-indentation), the Contractor will measure viscoelastic material properties at a spatial resolution to accurately measure material inhomogeneity at the same spatial resolution as the brain’s anatomical structures. This data will equip SIMon to make anatomically relevant predictions of tissue deformation, specifically: a. Anisotropic material properties will be measured for different brain regions: cortex (within specific layers), hippocampus (within specific subfields), corpus callosum, brain stem, subcortical white matter (thalamus), and cerebellum by preparation of orthogonal samples. b. Material properties will be measured in young (1-3 year old human equivalent) and adult animals to determine age dependence for accurate SIMon simulations of pediatric and adult injury. c. Material properties will be measured in multiple species including rat, pig, and human brain samples for cross validation of results. 2) Discover functional tolerance criteria: The contractor will quantify changes in electrophysiological function of both the living cortex (largest mass) and living hippocampus (most vulnerable and involved in learning and memory) in response to precisely controlled mechanical injuries. From this data, functional tolerance criteria will be developed relating input mechanical parameters (tissue strain and strain rate) to alterations in function. These criteria will provide SIMon with the enhanced capability to predict functional consequences of traumatic loading, engendering a virtual living surrogate for crash testing. The proposed contract will be for a base period of twelve (12) calendar months with four (4) renewable, twelve (12) calendar month option periods. Interested firms should identify their capability to provide the necessary services as described above. The written response must include detail information relating to the specific service being requested. Expressions of interest without sufficient detail to permit evaluation of ones ability to provide the necessary services will not be considered. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals nor is a Request-for-Proposal solicitation document currently available. A determination by the Government not to compete this action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive acquisition. In the absence of responses from interested firms demonstrating their capability, NHTSA intends to request a proposal from Columbia University on a noncompetitive basis for the work described. Responses must be received by the listed procuring office within 15 days from the date of publication of this notice.