Statement of Requirements
The Unversity of Ottawa is pleased to invite qualified proponents to submit a proposal for two (2) rodent activity monitoring and recording systems. Two (2) separate systems, one for rats and the other for mice, will be purchased to noninvasively record animal activity over multiday experiments. Both systems will be housed in the UOttawa Behaviour and Physiology Core and will be utilized for a wide variety of projects and purposes, therefore requiring both systems to provide as many reliable measurements as possible.
General Description:
The Core requires a means of recording rodent activity in a high-throughput, non-invasive manner. The desired system must reliably record activity in three dimensions (x, y, and z) from outside the home cage and for uninterrupted multi-day periods without requiring user intervention. The collected data should cover a wide variety of metrics, including distance traveled, horizontal and vertical activity, rest and activity periods, rotations, and paths, all of which must be able to exported by any increment of time. The system must be able to measure at minimium 24 mice or 12 rats at a time. The equipment and data collection must be stable and reliable over long periods of time and come with a robust warranty and support benefit.
Specifications listed in Appendix A – Technical Specifications Compliance Form of this RFP are the mandatory minimum requirements for the rodent activity monitoring and recording systems.
Should any equipment included in a proposal be superseded by a newer model during the period of time between the award of contract and the delivery date, the successful Proponent will be required to inform the University of Ottawa of the new specifications, the newer model pricing will remain the same as what was offered in the RFP. At its sole discretion, the University of Ottawa may opt to make changes from the list of equipment by altering, adding, or deducting some equipment.
