Application of mathematical optimal transport theory to outstanding problems of image enhancement and artifact reduction in magnetic resonance imaging 75N95025Q00225

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies under the NAICS Code 541380 - Testing Laboratories Services, technically capable of meeting the Government requirement, to determine the method of acquisition, and availability of domestic sources manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. 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 MRI Section of the NIA/IRP (National Institute on Aging/Intramural Research Program) specializes in studies of tissue response to aging, and age-related pathology; there exists an ongoing, and increasing, need for high-quality multi-modality imaging studies. Many of these studies are extremely challenging from the perspective of image information content. The purpose of our work is to greatly augment the information content of MRI non-invasive characterization and diagnosis of brain and connective tissue pathology, and deepen our understanding of microstructural changes that occur with aging and diseases of aging. Background Information and Objective: Studies in quantitative MRI are extremely challenging, with optimal acquisition strategies representing tradeoffs between speed of acquisition, image pixel resolution, unavoidable patient motion, sequence design (with e.g. greater or lesser sensitivity to motion), and other considerations. While we have for many years been at the forefront of acquisition-end developments for producing high-quality images, processing-end developments have been much less well-studied by our group and in the MRI community overall. However, with the advent of increased machine learning perspectives and greatly expanded computational power, new ideas and implementations in data processing for optimal imaging protocols are of increasing interest. The goal of all of this, in our laboratory, is towards the detailed characterization of central nervous system. Purchase Description: NIDA requires the Application of mathematical optimal transport theory to outstanding problems of image enhancement and artifact reduction in magnetic resonance imaging. Specific Requirements: Provide a detailed literature search to identify suitable modalities for the optimal transport approach, as well as those modalities for which further back-end (post-acquisition) processing will be most effective and provide the most additional information. This will be in close collaboration with the PI, who is the domain-knowledge expert in MRI. Establish the mathematical framework for the associated optimization problems using the Wasserstein-1 metric as follows: i) for image inpainting, ii) for multimodality superresolution, and iii) for localized artifact removal Explore available nonlinear optimization methods to address the optimization problems described above and identify those that are most promising. Translate the solutions of these optimization problems into MRI-image outcomes. Develop suitable metrics (e.g. SSIM; PSNR) for quality, based on fiducial images. One approach for construction of the latter will be to deliberately degrade high-quality images, which will then serve as their own gold standard for comparison. Evaluate the efficacy of the Wasserstein-2 metric in comparison with the Wasserstein-1 metric in the program described above. Level Of Effort: (0.5 x 2) graduate students, 50% effort for each of two students. Government Responsibilities: The government shall provide suitable background from the MRI Section s previous work and expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence developments with particular emphasis on MRI applications. The project officer will evaluate code, algorithms, and methods produced by the contractor and provide feedback at each of the stages described above. Delivery Or Deliverables: The contractor shall deliver code (e.g. Python and MATLAB scripts) generated in pursuing the program outlined above. The contractor shall provide detailed instructions on using this code so that the National Institute on Aging (NIA) researchers can reproduce their work and apply the analytical techniques developed to new data. These instructions will include both annotations within the code and separate documents providing step-by-step instructions. The contractor shall provide the results of applying the analytical techniques developed to the MRI data provided by the Government. The timely submission of deliverables is essential to successfully completing this requirement. Deliverables are to be submitted in electronic copy. Period of Performance: 10 months 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 July 30, 2025, 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, 75N95025Q00225. Responses must be submitted electronically to Llakim Dubroff, Contract Specialist, at Llakim.Dubroff@nih.gov U.S. Mail and Fax responses will not be accepted.

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of intends to award a sole source contract under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source. For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available. This contract will be awarded to University of Maryland College Park, 3112 Lee Building College Park, Maryland 20742-5100. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 541380 with a Size Standard of $19 Million. REGULATORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6 Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization). The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2025-05 dated August 7, 2025. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES: Purchase Description: NIDA requires the Application of mathematical optimal transport theory to outstanding problems of image enhancement and artifact reduction in magnetic resonance imaging. Specific Requirements: Provide a detailed literature search to identify suitable modalities for the optimal transport approach, as well as those modalities for which further back-end (post-acquisition) processing will be most effective and provide the most additional information. This will be in close collaboration with the PI, who is the domain-knowledge expert in MRI. Establish the mathematical framework for the associated optimization problems using the Wasserstein-1 metric as follows: i) for image inpainting ii) for multimodality superresolution iii) for localized artifact removal Explore available nonlinear optimization methods to address the optimization problems described above and identify those that are most promising. Translate the solutions of these optimization problems into MRI-image outcomes. Develop suitable metrics (e.g. SSIM; PSNR) for quality, based on fiducial images. One approach for construction of the latter will be to deliberately degrade high-quality images, which will then serve as their own gold standard for comparison. Evaluate the efficacy of the Wasserstein-2 metric in comparison with the Wasserstein-1 metric in the program described above. Level Of Effort: (0.5 x 2) graduate students, 50% effort for each of two students. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, University of Maryland, College Park, MD is the only source that can meet NIA s needs for Application of mathematical optimal transport theory to outstanding problems of image enhancement and artifact reduction in magnetic resonance imaging. This work represents an entirely new project. The new project under this contract specifically requires sophisticated methods in mathematical analysis, and in particular development and application of the optimal transport approach to MRI image artifact reduction, optimization, and superresolution. Applied mathematical optimal transport was in fact developed years ago primarily by this group, at the Norbert Wiener Center for Harmonic Analysis, Dept. of Mathematics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Although this is an entirely new project, for other projects we have already developed methods in collaboration with the University of Maryland College Park Department of Mathematics over the past several years, resulting in several joint publications. Working further with this group will ensure that the entirely new methods which are the subject of this contract are consistent with our previous work. This is essential in order to perform proper comparison tests and to understand the improvements in the new methods as compared to the previous jointly-developed methods. In particular, it is critical to ensure that brain microstructural differences that we detect with MRI in new experimental subjects are indeed due to actual tissue changes, rather than due to differences in details of the analysis. As a result, and also because of their deep and unique expertise in the mathematical theory of optimal transport, the University of Maryland is the only source that can meet NIA s needs. The intended source is: University of Maryland College Park 3112 Lee Building College Park, Maryland 20742-5100 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, 75N95025Q00225. Responses must be submitted electronically to Llakim Dubroff, Contract Specialist, at Llakim.Dubroff@nih.gov U.S. Mail and Fax responses will not be accepted. Primary Point of Contact: Llakim Dubroff, Contract Specialist