---
title: "Portable Low-Field MRI System"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0422f1"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0422f1"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0422f1.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0422f1.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "KENT AND MEDWAY NHS AND SOCIAL CARE PARTNERSHIP TRUST"
published: "2024-01-23"
---

# Portable Low-Field MRI System

Buyer: KENT AND MEDWAY NHS AND SOCIAL CARE PARTNERSHIP TRUST  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0422f1

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## Summary

The Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust has recently awarded a contract for the provision of a portable low-field MRI system to Hyperfine Operations, Inc. The contract includes the MRI system, associated peripherals, training, support, and maintenance services for a period of five years. This procurement process was carried out via a negotiated procedure without prior publication. The Trust sought a system meeting specific requirements such as UKCA marking, portability, magnetic safety, low power consumption, and user-friendliness, to support local neuroimaging research into dementia assessment and diagnosis.

This procurement opportunity, which has now been completed, presents business growth prospects for suppliers of portable medical imaging systems. Companies capable of delivering high-quality, UKCA-marked, portable MRI systems suitable for neuroimaging research and clinical services stand to benefit from similar future tenders. The awarded contractor, Hyperfine Operations, Inc., demonstrated capability and expertise in delivering the required product within the Trust's specified timeline and technical specifications. Suppliers well-versed in healthcare technologies, research equipment, and portable medical devices are well-suited to compete in similar tender processes.

## Notice

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust has awarded a contract via a negotiated procedure without prior publication for the provision of a portable low-field (0.064 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The contract will also include associated peripherals, training, support and maintenance services for a period of five (5) years.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (the "Trust") has awarded a contract for the provision of a portable low-field (0.064 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The contract will also include associated peripherals, training, support and maintenance services for a period of five (5) years commencing on the date of delivery of the products to the agreed final shipping location.

The MRI scanner will be used for the purpose of accelerating and developing local place-based neuroimaging research into the process of assessment and diagnosis of dementia, in which timely access to neuroimaging is frequently a rate-limiting step. The scanner will also be available for researchers addressing other mental health disorders, such as research aligned to the new Kent Complex Psychosis Service and investigation of non-dementia mental illness in older and younger adults.

A key focus will be to aid the development of new AI algorithms in the assessment of structural change in dementia and cognitive decline - to decrease the need for high field MRI brain assessment in specialist centres and avoid the associated restrictive environment.

In order to support the its research objectives, the Trust required a system which fulfilled the following requirements:

* Approved for commercial sale in the UK (UKCA marked);
* Small and highly portable design in order to fit through doorways and elevators, and to provide ease of manoeuvrability;
* Magnetic configuration to enable researchers to work safely with participants during testing;
* Ability to be powered through standard electrical outlets;
* Low power consumption to reduce running costs;
* Open design to reduce participant anxiety; and
* Controlled through portable user-friendly wireless device (e.g. tablet). Additional information: The Trust considers that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice was permitted by Part 2 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

The Trust published a voluntary ex ante transparency notice (2023/S 000-036285) on 8th December 2023, expressing its intention to award a contract via a negotiated procedure without prior publication.

Prior to the award of contract, the Trust observed a standstill period of at least 10 days following the publication of the voluntary ex ante transparency notice (2023/S 000-036285), beginning with the day after the date on which the notice was published.

### Procurement Information

It is considered that the award of the contract following a negotiated procedure without prior publication is lawful in accordance with regulation(s) 32(5)(a) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015, whereby the portable low-field MRI system will be "manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experimentation, study or development, and shall not include quantity production to establish commercial viability or to recover research and development costs".

The portable low-field MRI scanner will be used for the purpose of accelerating and developing local place-based neuroimaging research into the process of assessment and diagnosis of dementia, in which timely access to neuroimaging is frequently a rate-limiting step. The scanner will also be available for researchers addressing other mental health disorders, such as research aligned to the new Kent Complex Psychosis Service and investigation of non-dementia mental illness in older and younger adults.

A key focus will be to aid the development of new AI algorithms in the assessment of structural change in dementia and cognitive decline - to decrease the need for high field MRI brain assessment in specialist centres and avoid the associated restrictive environment.

The portable low field scanner will therefore be used in clinical research in alignment with current NHS England priorities, including reducing time to diagnosis and increasing dementia diagnosis rates, and to the priorities of clinical services both nationwide and internationally.

The portable low field MRI scanner has previously been used for Clinical Research in the NHS, gaining Health Research Authority (HRA) and UK Ethics approvals:

* 12/LO/1247 - West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee,
* 19/LO/1384 - City & East Research Ethics Committee.

It is also considered that the award of the contract following a negotiated procedure without prior publication is lawful in accordance with regulation(s) 32(2)(a)(ii) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015, whereby "competition is absent for technical reasons".

Following market research, the Trust is confident the required product and associated services are only capable of being provided by a single supplier. The Trust's guiding principles being the requirement for a portable low field MRI system most suitable for the acceleration and development of local place-based neuroimaging clinical research. This includes:

* Approved for commercial sale in the UK (UKCA marked);
* Small and highly portable design in order to fit through doorways and elevators, and to provide ease of manoeuvrability;
* Magnetic configuration to enable researchers to work safely with participants during testing;
* Ability to be powered through standard electrical outlets;
* Low power consumption to reduce running costs;
* Open design to reduce participant anxiety; and
* Controlled through portable user-friendly wireless device (e.g. tablet).

It is the Trust's belief that the awarded contractor was the only economic operator capable of supplying an existing product within the Trust's timescales, and which fulfils these requirements in order to support the Trust's objectives for undertaking local place-based neuroimaging clinical research.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002342-2024 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 23 Jan 2024 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 8 Dec 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £280,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | KENT AND MEDWAY NHS AND SOCIAL CARE PARTNERSHIP TRUST |
| Locality | AYLESFORD |
| Post town | Rochester |
| Postcode | ME20 6WT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ4 Kent |
| ITL 3 | TLJ46 West Kent |
| Local authority | Tonbridge and Malling |
| Electoral ward | Larkfield |
| Westminster constituency | Chatham and Aylesford |
| Delivery location | TLJ4 Kent |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | HYPERFINE OPERATIONS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products

### Codes

- 33113000 - Magnetic resonance imaging equipment
- 33113100 - Magnetic resonance scanners

## Release History

- 23 Jan 2024 at 18:35 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002342-2024
- 8 Dec 2023 at 16:45 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036285-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://hyperfine.io/
- https://www.gov.uk/
- https://www.kmpt.nhs.uk

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0422f1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0422f1.json.