Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 1E626, Bethesda, MD 20892, UNITED STATES

Description
The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Radiation Oncology Branch (ROB), plans to procure on a sole source basis RapidArc Planning license for its Varian Eclipse Treatment Planning System (TPS) to better understand the role of radiation in the treatment of disease from Varian Medical Systems, 2250 Newmarket Parkway, suite 120, Marietta, GA, 30067, UNITED STATES.

This acquisition will be processed in accordance with simplified acquisition procedures as stated in FAR Part 13.106-1(b)(1) and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6. The North American Industry Classification System code is 423430 and the business size standard is 100 employees.

Only one award will be made as a result of this solicitation. This will be awarded as a firm fixed price type contract.

It has been determined there are no opportunities to acquire green products or services for this procurement.
The Radiation Oncology Branch of the CCR treats cancer patients with radiation according to approved clinical protocols and performs research to better understand the role of radiation in the treatment of disease.

The current requirement of the ROB is for Eclipse RapidArc Planning License.
ROB has utilized the Eclipse Treatment Planning System (TPS) in order to plan radiation treatments for the vast majority of its patients. This system is manufactured, distributed and serviced by Varian Medical Systems. Eclipse is built around a base system that provides a graphical user interface for data input, a calculation engine for determining dose distribution volumes and a display and output components for visualizing the results and generating printed copies which act as written prescription verification. Eclipse is thoroughly integrated into Varian's ARIA patient management system, where all treatment parameters and results are stored for each patient. The Government owns both the ARIA system and six Eclipse treatment planning workstations (validated hardware plus software). In addition to the base TPS, Varian also offers additional software modules that extend the systems capabilities.
One of the features of Varian RapidArc and TrueBeam accelerators is the ability to perform RapidArc radiation treatments. For a RapidArc treatment, the accelerator gantry rotation is dynamically controlled along with the radiation intensity and the shape of the radiation field, so as to precisely deliver the planned radiation dose distribution to the target volume while at the same time providing the maximum protection to uninvolved structures. Treatment planning for RapidArc delivery requires a specialized software module for Eclipse that will take in information about the target location and shape, along with the locations and shapes of all designated critical normal structures and the physician's intent and generate a treatment plan that provides the optimum solution to the problem which the physician can then use as the basis for prescription. The module also generates all of the accelerator-specific information related to the plan and passes it to the ARIA Patient Management System, so that it can be recalled to the treatment console and used to treat the patient.
Varian Medical Systems (VMS) is the premier manufacturer of radiation therapy equipment and support equipment in the United States. The Radiation Oncology Branch, NCI owns one Varian linear accelerator and is in the process of installing a second one. Additionally, ROB owns VMSs ARIA Patient Management System, Eclipse treatment Planning Systems. ROB has considerable time and money invested in these systems.

The RapidArc Planning module has been developed by Varian Medical Systems as an integral extension of both the Eclipse Treatment Planning System and the RapidArc and TrueBeam accelerator systems. Varian Medical Systems is the sole vendor capable of developing this integrated package. ECLIPSE is a proprietary software system developed by VMS and is protected by both copyright and patent. VMS has also certified both Eclipse and this module with the FDA as medical devices through the 510(k) approval process. Varian solely developed this software and is its sole distributor. Additionally, installation of any third-party software modules into the Eclipse TPS will invalidate existing service agreements.

This notice is not a request for competitive quotation. However, if any interested party, especially small businesses, believes it can meet the above requirement, it may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. The statement of capabilities and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NCI to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Responses must be received in the contracting office by 4:00 PM EST, on November 12, 2014. All responses and questions must be in writing and faxed 240-276-5401 or emailed to Kimesha Leake, Contract Specialist via electronic mail at [email protected]. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement 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 procurement. No collect calls will be accepted. In order to receive an award, contractors must be registered and have valid certification in the System for Award Management (SAM) through sam.gov. Reference: N02RC52503-24 on all correspondence.