IRadimed: #59 Forbes 2023 America’s Best Small Companies

Few corners of the market have offered much safety this year, and small-cap companies have fallen even further than their larger peers. The Russell 2000 Index is down 23% from its peak last November, while the S&P 500 has declined 17% since its highest point.

That outcome is par for the course for this more volatile group of stocks, which typically underperforms entering recessions and periods of economic weakness but outperforms coming out of them. In the long run, small caps are still winners. Yale professor Roger Ibbotson and financial consultancy Duff & Phelps analyzed nearly a century of data to find that small caps have outperformed large companies by 1.6% on average every year through 2020. Fearful investors who throw in the towel now risk missing out on the rewards when the market reverses course.

“This is one of the best times to invest in small company stocks that we've seen in a very long period of time,” says Gregg Fisher, founder of global small cap hedge fund Quent Capital, which manages $1 billion in assets. “The odds historically of a huge rally off this massive decline are high.”

To find the 100 best performers that have continued to grow through the bear market, Forbes used data from FactSet to compile its annual list of America’s Best Small Companies. We screened more than 1,000 companies with a market value between $300 million and $2 billion to find 541 companies that also had positive sales growth over the past 12 months and a share price of at least $5. Financial institutions, REITs, utilities, royalty trusts and limited partnerships were excluded, as were companies that have been public for less than one year.

The ranking is based on earnings growth, sales growth, return on equity and total stock return for the latest 12 months available and over the last five years. We gave more weight to the latest year’s data in the ranking. All data is as of November 11, 2022.

—excerpt from Forbes 2023: America’s Best Small Companies | FULL ARTICLE HERE | Our Forbes Profile

Can a Ferromagnetic Detection System (FMD) help prevent a catastrophic event?

We live in an ever-changing world of medicine.  Technology continues to advance which provides all of us the options for diagnosis, treatment, and improved outcomes.  The start of this advancement begins in the ability to diagnose more accurately and efficiently.  The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) has quickly become one of the preferred methods of imaging as it provides some of the most in depth and accurate visibility of our soft tissues.  The request for these scans are ever increasing.  They scan for the diagnosis of common items you may hear on the news like soft tissue tears, think ACLs or Achilles in sports or even cancer diagnosis.  But, the side of MRI imaging that goes unnoticed by most of our population in light of the fact it has arguably seen the highest growth rate in the industry is the imaging of critical care patients.

 MRI provides our inpatient clinicians consistent and accurate diagnosis imaging which allows for a better and a more directed treatment plan.  Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, Neuro Intensive Care Unit, Medical Intensive Care Unit, and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit have all experienced immense spikes in their visits to MRI.  There are benefits are immense, but this brings a whole new threat not widely experienced in this field.  The quantity of new clinicians who are unfamiliar with an MRI are now expected to adopt the safety standards of the technicians who work in and around these devices each day.   There are safety precautions and guidelines that must take place when protecting this environment.  With one high acuity patient, a MRI technician could as a result be responsible for screening the patient and/or family member, a nurse or two, respiratory therapist, CRNA, and transport member all in a single visit.  Because of the increase in personnel, we now have devices, like a ferromagnetic detector (FMD), in our industry that help prevent and alert staff when a magnetic device enters the MRI room.

 Most are unaware of the safety implications and threats that exist in and around an MRI machine including many hospital staff members.  Yes, most are aware a MRI does not emit radiation and therefore is far safer with regards to long term exposure for both the patients and staff.  However, a MRI machine is just a really large magnet that polarizes our atoms in a particular direction which allows the software to develop a picture of the patient’s tissue being scanned.  As a child, if you have ever played with a magnet, you understand the attraction and speed at which a magnetic device will stick to the magnet.  And the magnets we would play with weigh a few grams.  Well, an MRI machine weighs roughly 10,000 lbs. with enough magnetic force to pull objects as large as a hospital bed into it.

 We have seen publicly several MRI accidents over the past year with many, many more lesser accidents going unreported.  Hospitals and Healthcare systems have continued to put in place new policies and procedures to help improve safety, but we still see accidents happening far too often.  MRI technicians are stretched too thin and required to now manage a much higher acuity patient, including all those from the clinical staff.  This all results in a far more crowded MRI space with a lot of personnel not familiar with these safety guidelines.  In comes the importance of a ferromagnetic detector (FMD).  These devices are designed to alert both with visible and audible alarms when any ferrous (magnetic) object enters the MRI suite.

 Much like a metal detector you may experience at a shopping mall, these ferromagnetic detector (FMD) devices are doorway entry systems that can help prevent a person with a ferrous object from unknowingly entering the zone IV MRI suite without notice by the MRI technician.  They can be a failsafe that provides the hospital, staff and patients a second set of eyes on any entrance into your MRI suite. 

 We like the ever changing and improving healthcare industry, but it doesn’t come without threats.  Companies continue to innovate to help keep up with the changes, and providing safety improvements is one of them.

World’s FIRST CHAT GPT (AI Generated) MRI Safety Policy

This very well might be the world's first Chat GPT (AI Generated) MRI Safety Policy. I was just curious as to what the results would be for such a relatively niche world we live in. This is for entertainment purposes only but here are the results if any one is curious on if Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool for us (or if it is coming for us ;-):

Chat GPT Prompt: Write me an MRI Safety Policy for the use of my new IRadimed Ferromagnetic Detection System.

Results:

MRI Safety Policy

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to ensure the safety of patients, staff, and visitors during the use of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at our hospital. This policy outlines guidelines for the safe use of the MRI machine and the IRadimed FMD (ferromagnetic detection system) in order to prevent injury and ensure optimal patient care.

Scope: This policy applies to all personnel involved in the use of MRI machine, including radiologists, technologists, nurses, and support staff at the hospital.

MRI Safety Guidelines:

1. Prior to the MRI exam, patients must complete a screening form to identify any metallic objects, medical devices, or implants that may pose a risk during the MRI exam. Patients must be informed of the risks associated with metallic objects and medical devices in the MRI exam.

2. Only those patients who have been screened and cleared for MRI examination can undergo the test.

3. Patients should avoid wearing metallic objects during their MRI exam, including jewelry, hairpins, and watchbands.

4. Medical devices must be verified for MRI safety before allowing the patient to enter the room containing the MRI machine.

5. Emergency equipment such as oxygen cylinders, stopcocks, and syringes must be kept outside of the MRI scanning room.

6. Patients and staff must be screened for metallic objects before entering the MRI scanning room.

7. The MRI machine must be kept free from any ferromagnetic objects at all times to prevent injury to patients or staff.

8. The IRadimed ferromagnetic detection system must be used to detect any ferromagnetic objects before allowing a patient to enter the room containing the MRI machine.

9. The MRI technologists must complete annual training on MRI safety and the use of the IRadimed ferromagnetic detection system.

10. A designated MRI safety officer is responsible for monitoring the MRI safety program and ensuring compliance with this policy.

Procedure for use of IRadimed ferromagnetic detection system:

1. Prior to allowing a patient to enter the room containing the MRI machine, the IRadimed ferromagnetic detection system must be used to detect any ferromagnetic objects on the patient.

2. If a ferromagnetic object is detected, the patient must be cleared of the object or the MRI exam must be rescheduled.

3. The IRadimed ferromagnetic detection system must be used to detect any ferromagnetic objects on staff or visitors before entering the MRI scanning room.

4. If a ferromagnetic object is detected on staff or visitors, they must be cleared of the object or prevented from entering the room containing the MRI machine.

Conclusion: The safety of our patients, staff, and visitors is of utmost importance during the use of the MRI machine. This policy, along with the use of the IRadimed ferromagnetic detection system, will help prevent injury and ensure optimal patient care during the MRI exam. This policy will be subject to regular review and updates to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness in MRI safety.

This is for entertainment purposes only

Recent MRI Accidents Expose Catastrophic MRI Projectile Trends

In the last 90 days, catastrophic MRI projectile “never event” accidents caused a civilian to lose their life, injured a hospital staff member, damaged medical equipment, and cancelled MRI patient exams. The February inpatient bed projectile incident is sending shockwaves through the MRI community exposing the injury, equipment and business hazards that many facilities take for granted. This accident comes right off the heels of the January projectile incident where the MRI magnetic field pulled a concealed firearm from an outpatient and discharged a bullet causing a civilian to lose their life.

IRadimed strongly believes that our Ferrous Metal Detector with TruSense technology would have prevented both of these life altering accidents this year. The IRadimed FMD is the only product on the market that combines ferrous metal detection with motion sensing. The AI technology in the IRadimed FMD adjusts the threat detection algorithms based on an item’s speed, direction and ferrous signature, helping eliminate alarm fatigue common with other ferromagnetic detection devices.

These preventable events have proven to be devastating, life changing situations for patients, staff, family and the MRI facilities involved. IRadimed’s unique technology is designed to prevent these types of accidents from occurring. Please visit https://www.iradimed.com/fmd for more information on how the unique and clever IRadimed FMD with TruSense can help reverse these projectile trends.