Published date: 12 May 2022

This notice was replaced on 12 July 2022

This notice does not contain the most up-to-date information about this procurement. The most recent notice is:

Awarded contract (published 12 July 2022)

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Contract summary

Industry

  • Sensors - 35125100

  • Biometric sensors - 35125110

  • Prefabricated units and components - 45223820

Location of contract

B152TT

Value of contract

£405,000 to £486,000

Procurement reference

SC10696/22

Published date

12 May 2022

Closing date

13 June 2022

Closing time

12pm

Contract start date

23 June 2022

Contract end date

20 December 2022

Contract type

Supply contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (above threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements above the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

No

Description

The University of Birmingham invites tenders for supply of
- At least 65 optically pumped magnetometer (OPM) sensors and associated electronics to be used for magnetoencephalography (MEG)
- An adjustable helmet or a set of helmets to arrange the sensors around the head of adults and children
- A MEG-compatible chair for patient and helmet(s) support
These items will be part of facilities for brain imaging at the Centre for Human Brain Health. The items will be combined in order to detect neuronal dynamics as well as localize neuronal signals in the brain.
Details specified below.
We require the OPM sensors to have sensitivity below 15 fT/sqrt(Hz). The sensors will be used in the newly developed OPM lab at CHBH. The lab is in the proximity of elevators. Therefore, we require that the sensors have operating range of at least ± 100nT and the dynamic range of at least ± 10nT with good linear response in that range. Regarding the bandwidth, we require that the system can record oscillatory brain activity (3-100Hz); ideally 1-100 Hz.

The helmet(s) accommodating the OPM sensors should allow sensors placement within millimetres form the subject's scalp. Participants for OPM-MEG research will be of all ages. Therefore, it will be required that the sensor array can be adjusted easily between different head sizes. The helmet(s) should allow the array of sensors to conform rapidly to the subject's head. We require that the helmet(s) is able to accommodate at least 60 sensors.
To obtain precise source localisation, we require that the sensors in the array have well defined placement and the position of each sensor can be established with 1mm precision. We require that the information on each sensor's placement can be automatically stored in the data output file for each measurement.
The system should also include a chair or a bed that has supports to fix the helmet in a desired position. The chair should be able to sit adults as well as children. The chair should be compatible with ultralow magnetic field environment requirements, be sturdy and comfortable.
We require all the items to be safe to operate on human subjects. The recording sessions are expected to last 1-2h, during which wearing the helmet should be comfortable for the subject. We require that sensors to not overheat during this time.

We request the electronics of the sensors to be fully integrated, simple, ready to use and easy to scale up. It should allow us to drive the sensor, retrieve data and interface the sensors with computers. The Data Acquisition unit/OPM controllers should have additional analogue and digital inputs and outputs. Additional head-position indicator (HPI) coils with a driver will be a benefit. Additional benefit will be if the format of the output files (raw and meta data) is compatible with conventional MEG devices and ability to import the files directly into MNE Python based software.

Overall budget for this item is up to £405,000.00 excluding VAT.

More information

Additional text

All correspondence should go via the University's In-Tend website.

Your tender documents and information must be submitted via In-Tend by the date and time specified; www.in-tendhost.co.uk/universityofbirmingham/aspx/Home

Scoring to assess the tenderers information is "pre-loaded" onto the In-Tend system. Therefore, you must make sure you complete all elements.

Key information for this tender is published on In-tend

This notice has also been published on Find a Tender service.

About the buyer

Contact name

Kseniya Samsonik

Address

University of Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM
B152TT
England

Email

k.samsonik@bham.ac.uk