The National Institutes of Health intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Heidelberg Engineering, Inc..

The Imaging Services Section provides visual data for the clinicians and investigators working in the Eye Clinic of the National Eye Institute (NEI), in support of the clinical Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and serves the NEI Consult Service ophthalmologists who see NIH patients and research subjects with ocular needs. As the NEI Consult Service has expanded, the examination and treatment of patients and research subjects with ocular surface disease (i.e., Graft versus Host Disease, dry eye disease), and corneal pathology from experimental new drugs, has increased. With that expansion, an unmet need was revealed for a device that could detect and image changes in the ocular surface epithelium, immune and inflammatory cells, corneal nerves, keratocytes, and meibomian gland structures, at cellular level, in the NIH patient population.

The Heidelberg in vivo Corneal Microscope with Rostock Module (HRT3-RCM) is the only camera system on the market today, at any price, that can record the ocular surface microstructures, both in health and disease.

Responses
The proposed acquisition action is for items and services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1 (b).  If you believe you can provide the items or services requested, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, which shall be considered by the agency, to the Contracting Specialist, Quentin Guy II, at  [email protected]   referencing notice number NIH-OLAO-OD5-NOI5707645 by  9:00A.M. on May 26, 2020.  A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract acquisition based upon responses to the 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.

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. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. 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.

Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced to the public in Federal Business Opportunities in accordance with the FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.  No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).