Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2022-04-15
Buyer: Aarhus Universitet
Country: DK
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 33000000 | 38000000
Estimated value: 912399.44 DKK

Technical requirements: Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University wants to buy a visible-light Optical Coherence Tomography (vis-OCT) system for animal imaging. The aim is to study alterations in rodent brain microcirculation and oxygenation in healthy and pathological conditions. Vis-OCT will become one of the major tools for understanding capillary perfusion and oxygenation heterogeneity in Alzheimer’s disease.
Structural and functional abnormalities in the microvasculature (vessels ≲100µm in diameter) are strongly associated with the leading causes of death worldwide, including diabetes, hypertensive heart disease and dementia. These abnormalities precede noticeable changes in blood pressure or sugar levels, making monitoring them pivotal in research and early diagnostics. Various techniques have been designed in order to detect and quantify the abnormal changes. Visible-light Optical Coherence Tomography is a novel, rapidly developing technology that allows non-invasive three-dimensional imaging of blood flow and oxygenation using interferometric and multi-spectral approaches. Specifically, it uses supercontinuum (white) laser as a light source that allows the system to measure scattered and reflected light at multiple wavelength and thus provide oxygenation information by fitting the measured data to haemoglobin light absorption spectrum. Unlike the technologies existing at CFIN, vis-OCT is non invasive and does not require contrast agents (compared to multi-photon imaging), has high resolution (compared to MRI) and allows in depth imaging with capillaries network resolved (compared to laser speckle contrast and 2D multi-spectral imaging).
The vis-OCT technology application to medical sciences has high requirements to the system stability and signal-to-noise ratio, which is generally limited by the supercontinuum laser. Prof. Hao Zhang and his research group has designed a new spectrometer, which allowed them to produce shot-noise limited vis-OCT systems. These systems are available only from the Opticent Health company, founded by Prof. Hao Zhang and his colleagues.
Furthermore as Opticent Health provides both animal and human imaging vis-OCT systems, working with them will ensure smooth translation to clinical research in future.
Aarhus University wants to buy a visible-light optical coherence tomography system. Only 1 supplier (Opticent Health) provides visible light OCT systems that satisfy the project requirements. Specifically, the Opticent Health system (I) uses customized spectrometer and sensor that provide shot noise limited imaging, not degraded by the light source stability, (ii) combines vis-OCT with fluorescence imaging (iii) exists in human and animal imaging versions, thus ensuring smooth transition for translational applications. Selection of another supplier will pose a risk for the project, or make it overall impossible due to lower data quality.
Following the notification, a standstill period of 10 calendar days will be held in accordance to paragraph 3 of Act No. 593 of 2 June 2016 on the Danish Act on the Complaints Board for public Procurement. This implies that the Contracting Authority cannot sign the Contract with the winning Tenderer before the standstill period has expired.
In case of complaints about tenders or decisions, e.g. award of contracts covered by Section II or III in the Danish Public Procurement Act must be submitted to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (Klagenævnet for Udbud) within 45 calendar days from the day after the contractor published a notice in the Official Journal on the conclusion of a contract. At the latest concurrently with submission of an appeal to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement, the complaint must inform the Contracting Authority of the alleged infringement, and whether the appeal is to be referred to the board.


Winner: Opticent Health
Award value: 912399.44