Repair and Installation services for the Heat Exchanger System on a Bruker 9.4 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations.

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified business sources; (2) determine whether they are small businesses (e.g., 8(a), Veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and women-owned small businesses); (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition; and (4) the availability of domestically manufactured and commercial products. Your response to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should indicate its small business status in its response.

The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Small businesses are encouraged to respond.

For equipment/supply requirements, responses must include the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture). For equipment/supply requirements, small businesses must also address the size status of the manufacturer under the applicable NAICS code (i.e. address Non-Manufacturer Rule).

Statement of Need and Purpose:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Intramural Research Program (IRP), is conducting market research to identify qualified, responsible sources capable of providing emergency repair parts and installation services for the Heat Exchanger System on NIDA IRP's Bruker 9.4 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system. The Neuroimaging Research Branch (NRB) within NIDA IRP operates a 9.4 Tesla MRI scanner dedicated to addiction research. The heat exchanger system, a critical component of the scanner, has recently failed. Although a temporary workaround has been implemented by us, it is not a reliable long-term solution and could fail at any time. Failure to permanently resolve this issue poses a significant risk of a magnet quench, which could result in catastrophic damage to the MRI system.

Purchase Description: NIDA IRP requires a brand-name or equal Triple-loop heat exchanger; delivery of parts, installation and setup; 12-month warranty.

Salient characteristics: NIDA requires a Triple-loop Heat Exchanger System with the following brand-name or equal salient characteristics:

• • Interface with existing scanner software control;
  • Use existing building water supply;
  • Interface with the magnet cryomech system, gradient and shim coil cooling system
  • Ensure stable cryomech working conditions.
  • The Magnet pressure must stabilize at 1040 mbar;
  • Sufficient cooling to the gradient and shim system so that the temperature in these systems do not exceed specified ranges, i.e. do not trigger over temperature protection, using current demanding scan methods (echo-planer imaging).
  • All replacement parts furnished must be new, unused, OEM parts manufactured or authorized by Bruker Corporation. Refurbished, remanufactured, or third-party equivalent parts will not be accepted.
  • Installation must be performed by technicians who are certified by Bruker Corporation to service the 9.4 Tesla MRI Heat Exchanger System.
  • All work must be performed in a manner that preserves and does not void the current manufacturer's warranty on the MRI system.

Quantity: Triple-loop heat exchanger; 2 days on site labor for installation and set-up..

Delivery Date:  The contractor shall deliver and install the required equipment within 3 months after receipt of order.

Period of Performance: 1 year warranty on all parts, labor and travel (including 1 Preventative Maintenance service visit) will start on date of delivery and acceptance.

Capability Statement /Information Sought:

Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required products or services should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately.  Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.

Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

Submission Instructions:

The response is limited to ten (10) page limit.  The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contracting Officer Identified below. The response must be received on or before August 12, 2026, at 3:00 pm EST. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted.

Disclaimer and Important Notes: 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 to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work.

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. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in www.sam.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality: 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).”

Closing Statement: THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Unique Entity ID (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, 75N98026Q00967SB. Responses must be submitted electronically to Josh Lazarus, Contracting Officer, at josh.lazarus@nih.gov. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.