Butterfly Network (BFLY) makes a revolutionary medical device powered by artificial intelligence that is already saving lives and will ultimately improve healthcare for Americans and others all over the world, Carl Delfeld, growth stock expert and editor of Cabot Explorer.
The scientist who founded the company, Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, has been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honor for technological achievement. Bill Gates backs the company and the company’s products are FDA-approved.
The Butterfly device addresses several issues that afflict American medicine, the main one being costly medical imaging services. Based in Guilford, Connecticut, Butterfly Network can make medical imaging accessible to everyone around the world — at the lowest possible cost.
Right now, most medical imaging services are far more expensive than they need to be. But Butterfly Network is changing that. It makes a handheld, battery-powered probe — so small that it fits into a doctor’s pocket — called the Butterfly iQ+.
When attached to a smartphone or tablet, it provides a window into the human body, enabling health professionals to check a patient’s heart, lungs, liver, arteries and more without ever leaving the examination room.
The key technology is its patented “Ultrasound-on-Chip.” The combination of hardware, software and artificial intelligence allows it to detect disease and solve problems early rather than after a patient becomes sick.
Butterfly’s breakthrough software can be tied to a medical network to provide instantaneous images and improve both the speed and quality of healthcare. This is so much better than scheduling a test in a week and then having the patient come back and pay for another appointment.
Instead, if your doctor has the Butterfly iQ+ in their pocket, they just connect it to an iPhone, scan your body and it has a digital image right in front of him. Plus, while an MRI machine can cost more than a million bucks, the Butterfly iQ+ costs a little over $2,000. The top 100 hospitals in the country already use Butterfly iQ devices.
These devices are also a boon to emerging markets. About 60% of the world has no access to medical imaging. In Africa and Latin America, for example, most pregnant women never receive an ultrasound before giving birth. Butterfly also has launched new solutions in obstetrics that will be delivered through the iQ+ platform to reduce maternal and fetal mortality.
While Butterfly has a world-class technology, it has become clear over the last few months that current management has not made the most of the business opportunity. On December 6, founder and chairman Dr. Jonathan Rothberg announced that current President and CEO Todd Fruchterman would leave the company and Rothberg will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a new chief executive who can accelerate its path to profitability.
Butterfly Network is an emerging company set to sharply expand the capabilities of the healthcare industry, helping it to lower costs, make better decisions and deliver better care. With an impending change in Butterfly’s CEO, and a stock trading well off its 2022 highs, I like the upside potential of this aggressive recommendation.