VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) STATEMENT OF NEED AND GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR Registration for CAS in Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy Training. Background: The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS), University Drive C, Pittsburgh, PA 15240, shall procure the registration payment for Dr. John Oldershaw to attend the CAS in Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy Training Course. This request is for training to be able to provide radiology-based pathology results for autopsies. This educational/training request is a result of VA Pittsburgh not having a Pathologist for autopsies. This course is training for a contingency that Radiology can perform and read a CT scan for autopsy purposes. The major aim is to equip participants with in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge of indications, provision, diagnosis, and assessment of a variety of imaging methods in postmortem radiology and forensic imaging. Structure of the course Virtopsy is actively involved also in teaching and training. Students will be learning directly from the pioneers those that started with wide-scale forensic postmortem scanning in 1999. The last decade has seen an unprecedented increase in the adoption of these techniques in the field of forensic pathology. Also, clinical forensic medicine increasingly bases expert opinions also on clinical imaging data and their interpretation. With that, the content provides relevant up-to-date training for forensic radiology / forensic radiologists, for forensic pathology / forensic pathologists and for experts in associated fields. Our Forensic Imaging & Virtopsy Courses provide theoretical and relevant practical knowledge of forensic imaging, notably post-mortem CT and MR, forensic anthropology, post-mortem angiography, surface scanning and 3D-photogrammetry, robot-guided biopsy, and clinical forensic imaging. For that, the course offers the participants computer access to actual cases that are then available for course/workshop training. The courses are offered as a CAS (Certificate of Advanced Studies) in Forensic Imaging & Virtopsy. The certificate is issued by the University of Zurich and can be obtained after completing all assessments and course modules. The modules can be taken separately, but not in any order. The Virtopsy Basic course (module I) consists of two days with a focus on postmortem CT (PMCT). Lectures are followed by workshop sessions where participants will learn how to solve case related problems in context of the preceding lecture on a CT workstation. So, a lecture about drowning will be followed by a hands-on session with cases where drowning was an issue. The Virtopsy Advanced course (module II) takes three days, and it will make the imaging (PMCT, postmortem MRI) of a concise case that is followed by a full forensic autopsy available to course participants. There will also be a similar case demonstrated in full examination for PMCTA (postmortem CT angiography). Also, the Advanced course expands the subjects of the Basic course with more detail. The Virtopsy Practical course (module III)  then starts the day after module III finished, that is, it starts on a Saturday and finishes the following Wednesday (compulsory parts) or Thursday (for those that wish to stay to work on their case books). It teaches how to read PMCT more systematically, how to provide convincing written and image documentation for forensic use, it teaches practically how to perform PMCTA and also, how to perform 3D photogrammetry for surface documentation. SPECIAL WORK REQUIREMENTS: GENERAL: The VA shall pay the registration and course fees for the specified courses for Dr. John Oldershaw. SPECIFICS: Registration Course Payment of CAS in Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy for Dr. John Oldershaw Precourse Visualization as standalone Module 0 Precourse Visualization for participants of Module 1 Module I: Basic Course: Mon 03/10/2025-Tue 03/11/2025 Module II: Advanced Course: Wed 03/12/2025- Fri 03/14/2025 Module III: Practical Course: Mon 03/17/2025-Fri 03/21/2025 CAS in Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy Courses only: End of Statement of Work (SOW) Instructions to Vendors: The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, of the registration and enrollment for CAS in Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy Training, to indicate the quality of the service that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications mentioned above. Responses to this RFI should include company name, address, point of contact, phone number, and point of contact e-mail, DUNS Number, Cage Code, size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 611430. Please answer the following questions: Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)? Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI? Are you an equivalent solution to the items being referenced above? (4) If you are a large business, do you have any authorized distributors? If so, please provide their company name, telephone, point of Contact and size status (if available). 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If none, please reply as N/A. This RFI will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. Responses must be received via e-mail to
[email protected] no later than, 4 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Tuesday December 10, 2024, this notice will help the VA in determining available potential sources only. Reference 36C24425Q0164 in the subject of the email response. Do not contact VA Medical Center staff regarding this requirement, as they are not authorized to discuss this matter related to this procurement action. All questions will be addressed by the Contract Specialist, David Santiago at
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[email protected]. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. End of Document