UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO - NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SINGLE SOURCE CONTRACT: #20-040
Cart-based ultrasound system for 2D, 3D and 4D imaging of the muscular-skeletal system
The University of Waterloo (UW), Department of Kinesiology, intends to award a single source contract to GE Healthcare, of Mississauga, Ontario, for the purchase of a Logiq E10 cart-based ultrasound system for 2D, 3D and 4D imaging of the muscular-skeletal system. The budget for this purchase is less than $175,000 CAD, not including tax/HST.
This is an Advanced Notice indicating to the supplier community that UW may award a contract for this equipment to a pre-identified supplier. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date of this notice, a statement of specifications that satisfies the stated requirements set out in this Notice, the competitive requirements of the University are considered to have been met. Following notification to any suppliers not successful in demonstrating that their statement of specifications meets the requirements set out in this Notice, the contract may then be awarded to the pre-identified supplier.
If other potential suppliers submit statements of specifications during the fifteen-day calendar day posting period, and meet the requirements set out in this Notice, UW will proceed to a Request for Proposal process, in order to award the contract.
Process - Suppliers who can provide equivalent equipment with proven functionality required for the research, within budget, are encouraged to submit a statement of specifications, in writing, to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this Notice. The statement of specifications must unequivocally demonstrate how the supplier meets these advertised requirements within budget.
SPECIFICATIONS
The required ultrasound system needs specific features that permit meticulous side by side comparison of previous ultrasound images or other modality images (i.e. MRI or CT) with live ultrasound. For pre-post comparisons of ultrasound recordings, the system has to automatically store and apply the same image settings for both recordings. It also has to be able to acquire and store photographs of the superficial anatomy along with a set of ultrasound recordings. The ultrasound data has to be stored in a true raw data format that allows for adjustment and recalculation of all derived image features in post processing.
Further requirements include:
- Simultaneous, real time visualization of blood flow and tissue at high spatial and temporal resolution (B-flow).
- Advanced 2D shearwave elastography with quality indicator
- Remote control to allow for operation of the system from a distance of the subject.
- High resolution imaging for athletic, normal and obese populations, without the need to adjust focus.
SINGLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
The University of Waterloo researched and evaluated five (5) different equipment packages; the departmental users identified key criteria that were ranked, a priori; only GE has the precision and specificity in their system for such a methodological research approach. The GE equipment also offers the most practical and effective panoramic imaging whereby the probe can glide with ease across an anatomical region to generate a 3D image. While other systems offered this feature, the other systems did not provide the smooth movement of the probe nor the precision of the image that GE does. The GE equipment is also unique in “stitching” together numerous 2D images to create a volumetric measure.
Finally, GE provides a high-quality industry standard that provides vast comparability of muscular-skeletal features with other clinical centres and research labs. Most users of this ultrasound system collaborate with numerous clinical centres, and GE equipment is the most commonly used within our collaborative networks.
Date of issue: June 24, 2020
Closing Date: July 9, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. EST
Contact:
Christine Wagner, CPPB, CSCP – Procurement Specialist, Research
Procurement and Contract Services
University of Waterloo
Email – cpwagner@uwaterloo.ca, or, procure@uwaterloo.ca
