Medical Orthovoltage X-ray Unit

CLARIFICATIONS REQUESTS: Dear Bidders, for your consideration, the following questions were raised and answered: 1 - The customer has requested for the system to connect to the Hospital’s Oncology Information System (OIS), are you able to confirm what OIS is the customer using, this might be Mosaiq or Aria? Please can you also confirm the version being used? a) There is no OIS there now, but the system to be quoted/supplied should be ready to transmit/receive information to/from a record and verify system. This refers to specification 4.2.6.8. 2 - What specifically is the brand name that you are seeking? a) Any that comply with the technical requirements. 3 - What is the budget for the acquisition of the units? a) The budget is according to the technical requirements. 4 - Is this a single acquisition of one medical ortho voltage x-ray unit? Will there will be needs for multiple units – if so when would they be required? a) Only one 5 - Who is the incumbent bidder? a) In the Specifications you can see that the recipient institute is the Windhoek Central Hospital in Namibia 6 - Within the international atomic energy agency – IAEA, and the location in the nation of Namibia has there been previous placements of these ortho voltage x-ray machines? – If so how many have been placed and who are the manufactures? a) No, this is the first one the IAEA buys for this Hospital. 7 - I have noticed that some of the requirements in the tender are based on old practice for Superficial and Orthovoltage therapy. Please see below some of the requirements included in the tender, I have included a comment in blue for each requirement. 8 - Eight (8) Tungsten covered with acrylic, eye shields designed for low energy X-rays. With at least 3 different diameters and curvature combinations for paediatric and adult patients. Tungsten is not commonly used in the UK and Worldwide customer base for treating lesions around the eye. The majority of our customer base now use lead cut outs, please see the article attached as an example. Tungsten is also is extremely expensive to purchase, therefore, we would recommend that the customer considers using lead cut outs. a) An eyeshield is imperative and lead is not an alternative. The idea is to treat the eyelid and/or surrounds and not damage the eye under the eyelid. Lead is toxic. See attached reference pertaining to same. I think some radiotherapy workshops, like Groote Schuur hospital, make them. 9 - Dental wax, 25 sheets of approximately 0.5 cm x 5 cm x 10 cm. Please can you clarify what ‘dental wax’ is? If this material used for ‘bolus’ as per used with LINAC’s to raise the depth profile, then this will not be required for Xstrahl’s system as Superficial/orthovoltage system’s offer 100% dose at surface therefore, bolus is not required. a) Dental wax is pink wax usually that can be heated with a hairdryer and then immediately moulded onto the surface (or into cavities) of a patient. It is a non-invasive way of applying a customised “skin” to the patient. They are usually pink! http://www.dental-waxes.com/modelingwax.htm 10 - Two (2) metre rolls of tungsten covered with acrylic sheets of 1 mm thickness or leaded rubber of 2mm thick, 200 cm long and 30 cm width cutter capable of cutting this thickness of material What is the purpose of this? We would recommend that the customer uses normal lead cut outs, tungsten is no longer used with Superficial/Orthovoltage Therapy systems as the cost to purchase tungsten is extremely expensive, we would recommend that lead is used as an alternative. a) 2mm lead equivalent rubber is the material used for lead aprons commonly worn by radiographers. It is easy to use for shielding because you can just cut it and then shape it to the patient’s skin. It is used for low energy Xrays. We do not advise lead (as per the eyeshields) as it is toxic. END