FlowCam 8000

***THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION’S (NOAA) ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) NATIONAL CENTERS FOR COASTAL OCEAN SCIENCE (NCCOS) OFFICE, INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE AND AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 6.103-1, WITH YOKOGAWA FLUID IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES OUT OF SCARBOROUGH, ME FOR A FLOCAM 8000 MICROSCOPE. NO SET ASIDE IS TO BE USED FOR THIS SOLE SOURCE REQUIREMENT. THE ASSOCIATED NAICS CODE IS 334516. ***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON NOAA’S REQUIREMENT THAT YOKOGAWA FLUID IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES IS THE MANUFACTURER AND ONLY DISTRIBUTOR OF FLOWCAM INSTRUMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA. THERE ARE NO AUTHORIZED PARTNERS OR RESELLERS. NOAA IS INTEGRATING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES TO IMPROVE THE SPEED AND ACCURACY OF HAB SPECIES IDENTIFICATION. FLOWCAM IS AN INNOVATIVE FLOW-IMAGING CYTOMETER USED TO QUICKLY CAPTURE HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES OF THOUSANDS OF SUSPENDED PARTICLES IN A SAMPLE. THIS ALLOWS FOR RAPID, AUTOMATED IMAGING AND QUANTIFICATION, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER THAN TRADITIONAL MANUAL MICROSCOPY. FLOWCAM 8000 IS A UNIQUE DIGITAL IMAGING PARTICLE ANALYZER THAT ENABLES THE USER TO IMAGE, ENUMERATE, AND CLASSIFY PARTICLES IN A CONTINUOUS FLOW MEDIUM. ONE OF ITS PRIMARY USES IS THE QUANTIFICATION OF MARINE AND FRESHWATER PLANKTON FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH AND WATER QUALITY MONITORING. FLOWCAM TECHNOLOGY IS COVERED UNDER VARIOUS U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL PATENTS, AND YOKOGAWA FLUID IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES, INC. IS THE SOLE MANUFACTURER, SOLE DISTRIBUTOR, AND SOLE SERVICE PROVIDER OF FLOWCAM IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. AN INTERNET SEARCH FOR FLUID IMAGING MICROSCOPY RESULTED IN ZERO SOURCES OTHER THAN YOKOGAMA FLUID IMAGING TECHNOLOGIES. DELIVERY WITHIN 90 DAYS FROM DATE OF AWARD ***THIS PRESOLICITATION NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION OR A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE. SUCH REQUESTS AND DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.