National Cancer Institute, Research Contracts Branch, PSAS, 6120 Executive Blvd, EPS/Room 638, Bethesda, MD 20892-7227

66 -- LINEAR ACCELERATOR SYSTEM SOL NCI-RFQ-00167-NV DUE 080300 POC Debbie Moore, Purchasing Agent, (301) 402-4509, Todd Cole, Contracting Officer (301) 402-450 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items, prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation, and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation, No. NCI-RFQ-00167-NV will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through FAC 97-18. The acquisition is being made in accordance with the test program for using simplified procedures for certain commercial items authorized in FAR 13.5. The Standard Industrial Code is 3826 and the business size is 500 employees. However, this solicitation is not set aside for small business BACKGROUND: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) requires a linear accelerator system for functional and molecular imaging, image-based radiotherapy, and high-speed telemedicine, particularly in the area of treatment planning. In addition, the accelerator is required in order to serve as a base system to be usedin conjunction with accessories and components that are developed at NCI and under cooperative research and development agreements. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: The linear accelerator system shall meet the following minimum requirements: (1) at least 2 photon energies for which: a.) The lowest photon energy shall be 6 MV with PDD(10x10,10)=67%, b) The highest photon energy shall be at least 15 MV with PDD(10x10,10)=77%, c) The dose rate at 6 MV shall be adjustable up to a minimum of 300 MU/min at isocenter, d) The dose rate at 15 MV shall be adjustable up to a minimum of 500 MU/min at isocenter, e) The largest field size shall be 40cm x 40cm at isocenter, and f) The accelerator shall be equipped with 2 sets of asymmetrically adjustable collimators capable of traveling beyond the central axis by at least 2 cm. (2) At least 5 electron energies for which: a) The lowest energy shall be 6 MeV, b) The highest energy shall be at least 20 MeV, c) The largest applicator shall be 25cm x 25cm at isocenter, d) There shall bean integral mechanism for creating irregularly shaped electron fields, and e) Dose rates for electrons shall be adjustable up to at least 500 MU/min. (3) Mechanical specifications shall include: a) The gantry shall rotate at least 360 degrees, b) The collimator shall rotate at least 180 degrees, c) Wedged fields shall be provided with at least 4 angles: 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees and 60 degrees d) The accelerator shall accommodate irregularly shaped (blocked) fields, and e) The accelerator shall be equipped with a mechanical front pointer. (4) The treatment couch shall have: a) Motorized vertical, longitudinal and lateral motions, b) Motorized pedestal rotation of at least plus or minus 90 degrees from the neutral position, c) A flat surface with both a center spine and open position and shall have removeable inserts, d) Two hand pendants as well as couch mounted controls, and e) Side rails which hold accessories. (5) Other provided components shall include: a) A power conditioner with the accelerator; b) Four motorized lasers (LAP PatPos-Green) or equivalent (3-crosshair, 1 line; and c) A port film graticule. 6) Removal of the existing Varian Clinic 20 system and installation shall be included with all location costs necessary to ensure safe and proper operation of the accelerator, including a determination of the room shielding. 7) Upon installation and inspection, a one year warranty on all parts and labor shall be provided, and the warranty shall also include the most current hardware/ software upgrades necessary to maintain state-of-the-art functionality of accelerator, MLC, EPID and all other components purchased. OPTIONS: In addition to the above minimum requirements and discretionary enhancements, three options as noted below shall be made available by the quoter so the Government may elect to acquire additional hardware or functionality above and beyond that of the base unit: Option 1) A multi-leaf collimator (MLC) shall be provided that either replaces or augments one set of collimators. The ability to treat a full 40 cm x 40 cm open field shall be maintained. The system shall be capable of producing an effective leaf size of 0.5mm or less at isocenter. The MLC shall provide integrated operation through the accelerator control system and the Record-and-Verify system to provide IMRT capability either by dynamic control, step-and-shoot, or a combination of the two techniques. The system shall be provided with independent field shaping capability as well as accepting downloaded leaf pattern sequences from existing NCI treatment planning systems. Option 2) An Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID) shall be provided. This shall integrate into the basic accelerator. It shall consist of an imaging device, preferably amorphous silicon, on a retractable arm with an imaging area of at st 30cm x 30cm, a microprocessor controlled image acquisition and storage subsystem with the provision for contrast and brightness adjustment as well as different filtering algorithms (sharpening, smoothing, histogram equalization, high and low band-pass, pan/zoom, ROI, flip, rotate, etc). The system shall provide a comparison of captured images with stored images and shall provide the ability to digitize externally provided film images and convert external electronic images to the necessary format. Images shall be capable of being integrated into existing Record-and-Verify system DICOM-RT image export shall be provided.; Option 3) The ability to provide an input signal for the gated regulation of the accelerator gun current shall be provided. The circuitry shall be of an open architecture nature to accept cardiac and respiratory gate signals as well as signals based on functional or biomolecular signatures or images. [NOTE: Quoters shall propose on the minimum requirement and all options to be considered for award. A separate price shall be provided for each option, and the Government can choose which options, if any, it may exercise. The price for each option shall include delivery, installation, and all other charges; furthermore, all warranty and upgrade terms applicable to the basic agreement shall apply to any options that may be exercised. If the Government elects to exercise an option, it will do so at the time of contract award or within ninety days after the award date and prior to the delivery date of the Basic Requirement.] DISCRETIONARY ENHANCEMENTS: While the Government wants the following capabilities, variations in systems are recognized, and the following are requested features: (1) A photon dose rate of at least 500 MU/min at isocenter for 6 MV photons, and the accelerator should be capable of producing a stable beam in less than 1 second. (2) Fixed wedges shall cover field sizes up to 30cm x 40cm. (3) Dynamic wedging through the use of collimator motion during treatment, and user customizable wedge shapes such as half-field wedges and "Virtual gap wedges" for field abutment. (4) Dynamic or sequential automated control of the treatment table motions (x, y, z, and table angle) during treatment delivery. The ability to optimize treatment delivery sequences to minimize treatment time. (5) Integrated IMRT capability with control of accelerator, table, MLC and EPID through a single keyboard and no more than 2 monitors. (6) An open system architecture shall be provided for seamless integration of data from third party systems such as treatment planning systems or record-and-verify systems. (7) Provision of a diagnostic x-ray source and imager for additional real-time image acquisition, either to augment portal images or for reconstruction into an axial image series for organ localization prior to or during radiotherapy. (8) Low dose rate photon mode in which the accelerator can deliver 6 MV x-rays at a stable d Max dose rate at isocenter of 5 cGy/min or less. [NOTE: If an offeror/quoter can provide any of the seven discretionary enhancements noted above, it shall furnish the add-on price for each discretionary feature provided with its quotation and indicate whether this price and the feature are included or not included in the overall quotation price. The add-on price shall include any costs of furnishing, delivering, installing, or warranting the discretionary feature. The enhancement feature(s) will be considered in the technical evaluation, as indicated under "EVALUATION:" herein. The Government reserves the right to make award with or without these desired but discretionary features.] MANDATORY QUALIFICATION CRITERIA Listed below are mandatory qualification criteria. The qualification criteria establish conditions that must be met in order for your quote to be considered for award. Because the system herein will be used for developing better processes for equipment-based functional and molecular imaging, image-based radiotherapy and high speed telemedicine with regard to treatment planning, the Radiation Oncology Branch(ROB) of NCI wants to establish partnerships to work on the development of new products and methods. Therefore, given the intended purpose of this system to be used as a basis for such development, the Contractor shall affirmatively acknowledge that it will consider any collaborative and scientific development work that is presented to it through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with the NCI Radiation Oncology Branch(ROB) engineers, physicists and physicians on developing additional technical improvements in hardware and/or software to the required system herein and as identified by ROB personnel, together with company research and development staff. Lastly, the Contractor shall affirmatively acknowledge that it will consider any other Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with ROB, RBB, and NCI to develop equipment-based functional and molecular imaging, image-based radiotherapy and high-speed telemedicine products, particularly in the area of treatment planning. MANDATORY INFORMATION: Quoters/vendors must provide descriptive literature, warranties, and/or other materials that demonstrate their quote meets the foregoing requirements and options. In addition to any of the aforementioned technical/descriptive information, the quoter/offeror shall provide the following information for use in the technical evaluation process: 1) All design specifications of system and accessories, as well as optional components/features, to evaluate capability; 2) Corporate experience in linear accelerator design and construction, including evidence of experience in building similar systems; 3) A narrative with supporting documentation on the flexibility of the system for customization, seamless integration with other third party systems, and compatibility of data transfer. and 4) Information on previous partnerships and collaborations to develop linear accelerator system components and accessories. TRADE-IN The Government has an existing Varian Clinic 20 system that shall be part of the removal outlined in the above minimum requirements. Quoters may provide a trade-in price that shall be factored into their total price quotation; however, the trade-in price must also be noted separately as a line item. Ifa quoter does not provide a trade-in price, removal will entail transportation to a Government facility within the Bethesda/Rockville, MD locale. AWARD: It is anticipated that at least one award will be made from this solicitation. However, for purposes of having diversity of machines and maximum flexibility with regard to applications and accessory development, two awards to different companies may be made from this solicitation. EVALUATION: The major evaluation factors for this RFQ include technical and price factors. The technical portion of quotations will receive paramount consideration in selecting a vendor. However, price (inclusive of any trade-in) will also be a significant factor in the event that two or more vendors are determined to be essentially equal following the evaluation of technical factors. With regard to price, the price evaluation will be based on the aggregate of the basic requirement and all options if the quotations fail to include any of the same discretionary enhancements. Discretionary enhancement prices will only be considered in the price evaluation if all quotations, which are determined to be technically equal, provide the same enhancement(s) in their quotations. In the event that a particular discretionary enhancement(s) is offered by all vendors determined to be technically equal, the price evaluation will be based on the aggregate of the basic requirement, all options, and the particular discretionary enhancement(s) that are provided by all technically equal offerors. Assuming offerors are not technically equal and more than one award is made, the second award shall be made to the second-highest, technically rated quoter. If two or more vendors are determined to be essentially equal in determining the second- highest, technically rated quoter, price will be a significant factor in considering selection and the price evaluation will be conducted as noted above. The Government will consider quotations for the basic requirement and the options in its technical and price evaluations. With regard to price, the price evaluation will be based on the aggregate of the basic requirement and all options. It is anticipated that any purchase order awarded under this RFQ will contain option provisions. In accordance with FAR Clause 52.217-5, Evaluation of Options (July 1990), the Government will evaluate quotes for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement, except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government's best interests. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the options. The technical evaluation will be performed by a NCI technical review committee. The following technical evaluation criteria will be used by the Government when reviewing the technical portion of the quotation. The criteria below are listed in the order of relative importance with weights assigned for evaluation purposes: 1) Demonstrated evidence that the technical quotation meets or exceeds theminimum technical requirements specified for the Basic Requirement and for the Optional System in the solicitation. (50 percent); 2) Evidence of system flexibility with regard to easy customization, seamless integration with other third party systems, and data transfer. (25 percent); and 3) Provision of potential commercially available discretionary enhancements above the minimum requirements as documented herein. Scoring will be based on the number of enhancements provided, and adherence of the proposed enhancement(s) to the noted specification(s) (15 percent); 4) Corporate experience in producing similar equipment, with an emphasis on linear accelerators and closely related components (10 percent). Delivery shall be FOB Destination or FOB Origin with transportation insurance provided by the vendor, and inside delivery shall be provided to Building 10 room B3-B403 National Institutes of Health 10 Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892 within 90 days after receipt of the order. The Government shall reimburse thosevendors with standard commercial terms of FOB Origin for all transportation insurance. This solicitation incorporates the provisions at FAR 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS- DEVIATION FOR SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION, and at FAR 52.212-3, OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS. The latter provision includes the DUNS Number Addendum. The resulting contract will incorporate the requirements of the Clause at 52.212-4, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS, and the requirements contained in paragraphs (a) and (d) of the clause at FAR 52.212-5, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS- COMMERCIAL ITEMS -- DEVIATION FOR SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS. The Contract will also incorporate the following FAR clauses cited in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the latter clause: FAR 52.222-26, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY; FAR 52.222-35, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR DISABLED VETERANS AND VETERANS OF THE VIETNAM ERA VETERANS; FAR 52.222-36, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES; FAR 52.222-37, EMPLOYMENT REPORTS ON DISABLED VETERANS AND VETERANS OF VIETNAM ERA; and FAR 52.232-34, PAYMENT BY ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER OTHER THAN CENTRAL CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION. Quoters must submit a complete copy of Representations and Certifications, including the provision for the DUNS Number (FAR Clause 52.204-6), with their offer. This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The quoter is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the quoter and submitted with its quotation. Quotations must be in writing and should be submitted as follows: 1) a completed SF 18 or SF 1449, signed by an individual authorized to bind the organization; 2) a Schedule of the offered materials containing pricing and a delivery schedule; 3) completed Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with DUNS Number addendum; 4) descriptive literature and mandatory information, as noted above; 5) acknowledgment of amendments, if any. The Representations and Certifications or other cited provisions and clauses may be obtained from Debbie Moore, Purchasing Agent, on (301)402-4509 or by fax on (301)402-4513. The price and technical quotations and related materials (one original and four copies) must be submitted to Debbie Moore at the above address. Quotations and all related materials must be received in the contracting office by 3:00 PM EDT on August 3, 2000. Quotations that fail to furnish the required information or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. Please cite the solicitation number (NCI-RFQ-00167-NV) on your quotation. Posted 07/14/00 (W-SN475011). (0196)

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