Procurement of Equine CT and Gantry

The University require the purchase and installation of a Combined CT Scanner and gantry system to facilitate multi-area imaging in standing and anaesthetised horses with capability to image small animals. This scanner will be installed at the Equine, Surgical and Critical Care Unit (EDSCCU) building, Easter Bush Campus, Edinburgh.

The procurement and installation of multi-slice large-bore Computed Tomography (CT) system integrated with an adaptable gantry solution for high-resolution large animal and equine diagnostic imaging. Following a Prior Information Notice on PCS November 2025 (reference: ocds-r6ebe6-0000815652).

This contract is for the supply, delivery, installation, and commissioning of a 160-slice large-bore veterinary CT scanning system integrated natively with a mounted motorised gantry. The solution is purpose-built to facilitate the safe imaging of large animals—specifically horses—under both general anaesthesia (in recumbency) and standing sedation.

The entire system must be deployed within a highly constrained, pre-existing examination room, necessitating a non-standard engineering footprint. In accordance with Public Contracts Regulations, the contracting authority intends to award this contract directly to a single specialist provider.

The award is justified on the grounds of technical exclusivity and the absence of competition, as no other supplier can fulfill the strict interoperability and spatial constraints required for this clinical installation. The unique technical cpnsiderations include: - Equine imaging requires a highly specific hardware profile to safely accommodate the shoulders, stifle joints, and skulls of large animals.

The requirement is a 90 cm ultra-wide diagnostic bore coupled with 160-slice data reconstruction capabilities. Alternative 160-slice systems with human diagnostic bores present a severe safety and collision hazard for equine subjects. - Due to the severe structural boundaries of the designated facility, major building adaptations are impossible.

The required solution must utilise minimal engineering footprint. Alternative configurations available on the market that require extensive structural room modifications physically cannot be accommodated within the small room.

Consequently, no alternative or substitute solution exists in the marketplace. A change of supplier would force the contracting authority to accept severe technical deficiencies thereby compromising clinical efficacy and animal safety.