Prior information notice
This notice is for prior information only
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Mindelsohn Way
Birmingham
B15 2WB
UK
Contact person: Andrew Gough
E-mail: andrew.gough2@uhb.nhs.uk
NUTS: UKG3
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/
I.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at:
https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Health
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
UHB WMSDE Digital Histology Annotation - PME
Reference number: PROC.08.0812
II.1.2) Main CPV code
48517000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
II.1.4) Short description
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) is one of the largest teaching hospital Trusts in England and the West Midlands, serving a regional, national and international population. It includes Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham Chest Clinic, Good Hope Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Solihull Hospital and various Community Services. We also run a number of smaller satellite units, allowing people to be treated as close to home as possible.<br/><br/>As an NHS organisation, UHB will see and treat more than 2.2 million people every year across our sites UHB currently employs over 20,000 members of staff and we are committed to investing in their development and their health and wellbeing.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
72260000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKG
Main site or place of performance:
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust,<br/>Mindelsohn Way,<br/>B15 2WB
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
This Prior Information Notice (PIN) outlines the requirements for a Digital Pathology: Histology Annotation Process to be implemented to support research taking place within the West Midlands Secure Data Environment (WMSDE) at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) located in Birmingham and Solihull, England.<br/><br/>Digital pathology whole slide images (WSI) represent a rich source of data that can be harnessed to develop algorithms that assist pathologists in diagnosis, providing critical information for treating a wide range of diseases. In creating these algorithms Computer scientists (CS) require WSI data to be prepared to facilitate their work. A crucial step in this preparation involves defining the pathology present within the slide and pinpointing its location so that it can be cross-referenced with the pixel data used by CS to train and test their algorithms. This process, known as semantic annotation, encompasses various levels of detail, from slide-level labels such as tissue type and disease status (positive or negative) to the identification of specific cell types and even subcellular structures, including organelles or viral inclusions. This briefing outlines requirements for effective and efficient WSI curation, to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) based technologies. Implementation of this capability within the WMSDE with multimodal, longitudinal data from the NHS, would provide a world-class resource for AI development. Its builds on established capabilities derived from previous work on health data management including for the 100,000-genome project, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, Health Data Research UK hubs as well as the current Regional SDE.
II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:
21/02/2025
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
Suppliers wishing to participate in this market engagement exercise and express an interest in this requirement should respond to the questionnaire via the online form on the Health Family Single eCommercial System Portal (Atamis) by 14:00 on Monday 31st March 2025.<br/><br/>https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome<br/><br/>Please search for C341035
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
21/02/2025