Portable Low-Field MRI System

CPV: Magnetic resonance imaging equipment · Magnetic resonance scanners

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Goods

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

19 Nov 2024, 17:10 GMT

Last source update

19 Mar 2026, 23:40 GMT

FTS notice number

2026/S 000-025514

Classification (CPV)

Magnetic resonance imaging equipmentMagnetic resonance scanners

Delivery area

South East (UKJ4)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-04bd0b Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the conditions stated in the directive; The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

It was considered that the award of the contract following a negotiated procedure without prior publication was lawful in accordance with regulation(s) 32(5)(a) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015, whereby the portable low-field MRI system was "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".<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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:<br/><br/>

• 12/LO/1247 – West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee,<br/>
• 19/LO/1384 – City & East Research Ethics Committee.<br/><br/>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".<br/><br/>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:<br/><br/>
• Approved for commercial sale in the UK (UKCA marked);<br/>
• Small and highly portable design in order to fit through doorways and elevators, and to provide ease of manoeuvrability;<br/>
• Magnetic configuration to enable researchers to work safely with participants during testing;<br/>
• Ability to be powered through standard electrical outlets;<br/>
• Low power consumption to reduce running costs;<br/>
• Open design to reduce participant anxiety; and<br/>
• Controlled through portable user-friendly wireless device (e.g. tablet).<br/><br/>It was the Trust’s belief that Xiel Ltd was the exclusive UK distributer of the Hyperfine® Portable MR Imaging® System, and was therefore the only economic operator capable of supplying an existing product which fulfilled the above requirements in order to support the Trust’s objectives for undertaking local place-based neuroimaging clinical research, and which can be delivered within the Trust's required timescales.

• Xiel LimitedAwarded supplier11875702 2 Yelling Mill, Shepton Mallet, UK, BA4 4JTContact emailShow contact details
• Xiel LtdAwarded supplier11875702 2 Yelling Mill, Shepton Mallet, UK, BA4 4JT

No document links were published on the notice.