Robotic stereotaxic injection system

PROCUREMENT DOCUMENTS

1.Information

1.1 About Stockholm University

Stockholm University, in the capital of Sweden, is one of Europe´s leading centers for higher education and research in human natural science and science. Currently, the university has 29 300 students,       1 400 doctoral students, and 5 700 members of staff.

Contracts with Stockholm University are also applicable for all parts of the University, institutions, foundations and other organizations affiliated with Stockholm University.

More information about Stockholm University is available on the Stockholm University website: www.su.se.

1.2 Background and scope

This procurement procedure concerns a robotic stereotaxic injection system, to support research performed at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. One of the key techniques employed to enable investigation into how different neuronal populations communicate and influence each other to drive behaviour is the injection of fluorescent tracers or viruses into the brains of rodents, which enables the labelling or genetic manipulation of specific cell populations. In order to accurately and reproducibly deliver the injected material to the brain region of interest, a stereotaxic frame is required, which enables consistent positioning of the animal while integrated manipulator arms are used to move a syringe needle to the site of delivery (typically deep within the brain) with micrometer precision, based on established X,Y,Z coordinates. A number of ongoing projects in the department will benefit greatly from having a high-precision and stable stereotaxic frame with which to deliver targeted injections into a number of distinct regions of the brain.

Please see the Requirement specification for more information.

1.3 Direct award procurement

The procurement will be conducted as a direct award procurement, in accordance with the Swedish Public Procurement Act (2016:1145).

Some negotiations, clarifications and additions are possible when minor, but only by request of Stockholm University. The tender must therefore be complete when submitted.

The tenders will be opened after the last day of tender. Only tenders who fulfill all requirements will be evaluated. Evaluation will be conducted as shown in “Evaluation and Award decision”. 

All tenderers will be informed of the award decision by e-mail. The awarding of contract does not constitute a binding agreement. A binding contract will be entered into by signature of both parties.

The procurement is concluded when a binding contract has been entered into, or when the procurement has been otherwise closed.

Stockholm University has the right to discontinue the procurement if and when the tenders essentially exceed the budget for the procurement and/ or when essential changes of Stockholm University´s need has occurred.

1.4 About the procurement documents

The word "must" indicate a mandatory requirement which must be accepted. In some cases the mandatory requirement includes a demand of a description and/or documents in addition to a confirmation that the requirement is met. The tender must then also include the adequate information. Tenders which do not meet all of the mandatory requirements at the appropriate time will not be accepted.

The word "should" is used for criteria. Fulfillment of criteria are optional, and show added values for Stockholm University. Fulfillment of criteria may be shown by acceptance, or with added information, as requested. Fulfillment of criteria will be used in the evaluation as stated in "Evaluation and Award decision".

The tender must contain all requested answers and information. The procurement document contains answer boxes to facilitate tendering, which adapts to the text. If however the answer does not fit in the answer box the tenderer may use an appendix for the information, and state the name of the appendix in the relevant answer box.

1.5 Confidentiality

All correspondence and information related to the tendering process is confidential until an award decision is made public and/or the procurement is closed in another way. After this all correspondence and information are made public and available on request in accordance with the principle of public access to official records.

Information concerning an individual company’s business or operating conditions in the tender may however remain confidential if there are special reasons to assume that the company is likely to suffer damage if the information is disclosed. Tenderers who wish to have information remain confidential may request continued confidentiality. The request for confidentiality should include which information that requires confidentiality, the reasons for this and which damage that is likely to be the result of disclosure of the information.

A decision regarding whether the information shall be disclosed or not will be made by Stockholm University when someone wishes to take part of the information. Stockholm University cannot however guarantee requested confidentiality.

Please note that information that are the basis for awarding of contract can be protected only if and when there are special circumstances.

1.6 Personal data

Stockholm University is responsible for all personal data that are included in the procurement process,

e.g. the names of contact persons and consultants. Handling of personal data are necessary in both the procurement process and when entering into contract.

The tenderer must ensure that

enclosure of personal data in the tender are in accordance with relevant legislation. (E.g. Dataskyddsförordningen (EU) 2016/679 and Dataskyddslagen (2018:218).) and

any and all necessary permissions of relevant personnel and/ or other parties are met before submitting the personal data in the tender.

By submitting the tender, the tenderer accepts Stockholm University´s handling of all submitted personal data when necessary for the procurement process and for entering into contract.

2.Tender requirements

2.1 Instructions for a complete tender             

The tender must indicate that all the mandatory requirements stated in the tender documents are met.

Stockholm University reserves the right to accept the whole tender, or the parts of the tender which are in accordance with the stated requirements.

2.2 Format of the tender                 

The tender must be submitted in English.

The tender must be given as requested in this document. Answers should be given in the requested place and in the required way. Answers can be given in enclosed documents if there is a clear reference to this.

The tender must be sent as an attached file in an e-mail. The tender must not be readable except in the file, to ensure that the information in the tender is not disclosed before last day of tender.

The tender must be signed by an authorized signatory. Scan the signature on a document that shows the identification number, e.g. front page, and add as an appendix.  

IF another person has been given the right to sign, please add confirmation regarding this, e.g. delegation system or proxy.  

 2.3 Subcontractors   

A tenderer may use subcontractors for the delivery of services and supplies.

A tenderer who wishes to use one or more subcontractors for part of the delivery, directly to Stockholm University, must include information regarding this.

Any subcontractor must fulfill all mandatory requirements as the tenderer.

The tenderer is fully responsible as for their own, for any and all work/ deliveries that are made through/ by a subcontractor.

2.4 Price

The tender must include all requested information regarding price. All necessary parts for the assignment must be included in the price, if not specifically stated otherwise.

All tender prices must be stated in SEK excluding value added tax (VAT) and must not include any other adjustments than those stated in the contractual terms and conditions.

 2.5 Complementary or additional information                    

The tenderer may ask for clarifications of the procurement documents. This should take place as soon as possible since the complementary or additional information will take precedence before the original terms.

All complementary and additional information will be sent be e-mail. Stockholm University will publish complementary and additional information no later than five days before last day for tender.

Send your inquiry to via TendSign, no later than 2022-06-21

2.6 Last day for submission of tender  

Please make sure that all mandatory requirements are fully met before submitting the Tender.

The Tender must be submitted via TendSign no later than 2022-06-28.

Tenders received after the deadline for submission of tenders will not be reviewed by Stockholm University.

2.7 Period of validity of the tender                    

The tender must be valid until 2022-09-30.

2.8 Contractual Terms and Conditions

Stockholm University intends to enter into contract as is shown in Contractual Terms and Conditions.

The terms and conditions must be accepted as is. A tender that includes terms and/ or conditions in contradiction of the stated contractual terms and conditions will not be accepted.

The tender may include complementing terms and conditions. Such will only be valid if and when Stockholm University has given its written approval, and only in parts that are not contradicted by any terms and conditions given in this procurement.

Stockholm University intends to enter into contract with a single supplier.

3.Requirements of tenderers

3.1 Information regarding the tenderer

Please enter information in Appendix Information regarding the tenderer. The appendix is included at the end of this document.

 3.2 Registration control                 

The tenderer must meet any demands, and be free of any debts, regarding the legal requirements concerning preliminary income tax (A-skatt), employer contributions, and corporate tax (F-skatt) in Sweden or in the home country.

Foreign tenderers must supply the corresponding certificates from their home country, translated into Swedish or English, confirming that they meet the legal requirements concerning registration and taxes as described above, no more than five workdays from Stockholm University´s request.

The documentation must be dated no more than two months before the submission of tender

 3.3 Financial capacity                    

The tenderers financial capacity must be adequate for the assignment.

The financial capacity is deemed adequate when the tenderer attains the score "creditworthy" (40) by CreditSafe i Sverige AB. Stockholm University will, if possible, conduct control of this via CreditSafe i Sverige AB.

A tenderer which cannot be controlled via CreditSafe i Sverige AB, must provide confirmation of corresponding credit by submitting a certificate from another credit reference agency. If this is not possible, the confirmation may be given by another independent party, e.g. an auditor. Such confirmation must be provided no later than five days from Stockholm University´s request.

3.4 Electronic invoice

The tenderer must send e-invoices. If electronic messages cannot be sent according to the standards describe in SFTI, the supplier can register their invoice at a web portal designated by Stockholm University.

For more information see: https://www.su.se/om-universitetet/kontakt/information-till-dig-som-%C3%A4r-leverant%C3%B6r

3.5 Technical and professional capacity          

The tenderer must show sufficient technical and professional capacity for the fulfillment of the contract by submitting the following documentation.

The tenderer must state and describe which resources that are available for this assignment, and how the resources will be used to ensure the responsibilities of the contract.

Name the description "Name of Tenderer_ Available resources"

The tenderer must have concluded several assignments equal to this assignment (see Requirements for the assignment). during the last three years. The assignments must have been concluded with good results. Documentation of this must be provided upon request.

4.REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATION

4.1 Aim and scope of the procurement  

The supplier must provide a robotic stereotaxic injection system suitable for performing automated ultraprecision low-volume intracerebral injections in mice and rats. The system must be entirely motorized and able to be fully controlled and operated from a computer.

The system must consist of a stereotaxic frame in which both mice and rats can be stably head-fixed via ear bars and head holders. Anaesthesia mask(s) must also be included suitable for delivering gas anaesthesia to the animal while it is head-fixed in the frame. The frame must be equipped with two arms (left and right), and these must be equipped with manipulators that are motorized in three axes. The movement in each axis must have a resolution of 1 µm and with adjustable speed settings down to 100 µm/min. It must be possible to adjust the coronal and sagittal angle of the arms with a precision of 0.5°, and each arm must be able to accommodate the simultaneous attachment of an injector and two additional probe holders (up to three objects may be fitted to one arm).

The system must also include a heating pad, with a set range of at least 20-45°C.

A remote control with rotary control knobs must also be included to provide the user with the option to control the manipulators manually.

An injector must be included which enables the system to perform multiple injections in different animals without tool exchange or recalibration. The injector must allow nanoliter injections to be reliably performed using a glass capillary, and capable of an injection rate as low as 0.08 nl/min.

Software must be provided that allows the apparatus to be fully controlled from a computer. This software must include:

an integrated stereotaxic atlas for mouse and rat, capable of scaling to adjust for animal size/age variability.

control of the stereotaxic positioning, with the ability to correct for head tilt errors, with autocorrection for pitch, yaw, and roll at a resolution of 0.1°.

control of the heating pad, with adjustable temperature setting and real-time readout.

control of the injector, with settings for nanoliter injection volumes and rates.

functionality to allow multisite injections and the saving of data from individual procedures, as well as the creation of templates for future experiments. The software must also display a virtual trajectory simulation for visualization of the procedure.

the capability to control at least three tools on one arm concomitantly, with one-click selection of active instruments.

The system must be compatible with Windows 10. No PC/laptop is required, but any additional hardware (e.g. control boxes or cables) required to link the hardware and software described above to a computer through a USB or similar interface must be included in the offer.

The delivery must comply with all requirements and with the criteria that has been offered by the supplier.

The supplier must accept all requirements in this procurement. The supplier must submit all information and documents that are required to show how the requirements are fulfilled.

The supplier must submit the following: documents containing a description and pricing of the equipment being offered. This can consist of a product brochure, other technical documents, or a link to openly available online supporting information sufficient to evaluate that the offered product meets the specified requirements.

4.2 Time for the delivery

Delivery time must be within three months of order placement.

5.EVALUTATION AND AWARD DESCISION

5.1 Evaluation

The evaluation of tenders will be conducted based on the information given in the tenders. Only tenders that fulfill all requirements will be evaluated.

The award of the contract will be based on the most economically advantageous tenders as stated below:

The most economically advantageous tender on the basis of price, as stated in 5.2 Price.

If more than one tender has the same evaluation price, a lottery will be used to determine which tenderer that shall be awarded the contract.

5.2 Price   

The tender must include all requested information regarding price as follows. Any and all necessary parts for the assignment/ delivery must be included in the price, if not specifically stated otherwise.