Portable Low-Field MRI System

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust awarded a contract via a negotiated procedure without prior publication under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for the provision of a portable low-field (0.064 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The contract also includes associated peripherals, training, support and maintenance services for a period of five (5) years.

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust (the "Trust") awarded a contract via a negotiated procedure without prior publication under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 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.

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. The Trust commenced the procurement process under under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 with the publication of a voluntary ex ante transparency notice (2024/S 000-037433) on 19th November 2024, 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 (2024/S 000-037433), beginning with the day after the date on which the notice was published.