PET/CT Service Built for the Theranostics Era
ImageOne Medical Group grew out of a partnership between two people who came to medical imaging from very different directions. Jeremy Hesser began his career with the U.S. Air Force, specializing in radar repair. Over the next 20 years, he worked for various OEMs and developed into one of the nation’s top PET/CT engineers.
Ric Arcadi came into the industry in the late 1990s from the equipment financing side of the business. When the two met, they formed ImageOne with a clear goal – build a self-performing, service-oriented diagnostic imaging company focused on the customer.
Today, ImageOne provides Siemens PET/CT service, repair and equipment sales and is a national leader in building customized mobile PET/CT trailers. The company deliberately staked its future on PET/CT as theranostics reshapes molecular imaging, and its service portfolio has grown 50% year over year. From a South Florida facility set in an airstrip park, complete with a farm next door, the team is pursuing an ambitious five-year plan while holding on to what Arcadi calls “a very family atmosphere.”
ICE Magazine recently interviewed ImageOne Founder and CEO Ric Arcadi about the company’s start, its services and goals for the future.
Q: What is the mission and vision of your company?
ARCADI: The mission and vision of the company are to create a self-performing, service-oriented diagnostic imaging company. We’re looking to scale our company in a way that allows us to deliver results that our clients are very happy with.
Q: What are the company’s core services and products?
ARCADI: Our core services and products are Siemens PET/CT service, repair and equipment sales. We are also a national leader in building customized mobile PET/CT trailers.
Q: What makes ImageOne unique or essential in today’s market?
ARCADI: In the field of molecular imaging, PET/CT is at the forefront of the theranostics imaging evolution. We were intentional about positioning ourselves strongly in this modality to bring a high level of service to this ever-expanding form of treatment.
Q: Can you share some recent milestones or achievements?
ARCADI: We have seen year-over-year growth of our service portfolio of 50% per year. We are also pleased with the joint ventures and partnerships we’re forming with industry leaders to stay at the top of our field.
Q: Who are the key figures leading your company?
ARCADI: Jeremy Hesser is regarded as the top Siemens PET/CT engineer in the United States in the third-party arena. He helps other engineers throughout the nation solve high-level problems.
Tuesday Slomovitz is our Gold Star operations manager. As a former synchronized swimmer for the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, she brings a work ethic and commitment to detail that go above and beyond.
Q: What differentiates ImageOne from competitors in your industry?
ARCADI: It might sound clichéd, but it truly is a commitment to high-level customer service. Many companies in our industry scale too quickly and too big, eventually getting bought out by private equity, and the customer experience is generally watered down and weakened in the process.
We have remained committed to keeping customers happy, which delivers a great patient experience. At the same time, we are retaining a high quality of life and enjoyment at ImageOne. It’s a very family atmosphere. We all get along, and there are a lot of laughs.
Q: How has the company adapted to industry trends?
ARCADI: We were forward-thinking four years ago when we positioned ourselves to support and service the theranostics growth that’s happening now. We’re also taking steps to stay plugged in to equipment supply channels as the world goes through ups and downs with transportation and tariff issues.
Q: What are your plans for the company’s future?
ARCADI: Our plan is to continue to grow brick by brick, focusing on each transaction, each client and each client relationship to ensure we have the proper engineers, parts inventory and manpower to handle things properly.
Q: What goals are you focused on achieving in the next five to 10 years?
ARCADI: Our goal in the next five years is to be servicing 400 assets on multiyear service contracts and to have built and deployed 75 mobile PET/CT trailers with cutting-edge equipment, including the road management system we’ve built called Ion Sphere.
Q: What do you wish more people knew about ImageOne?
ARCADI: If there’s one thing I wish more people understood, it’s the extraordinary potential of theranostics and the impact it will have on the future of patient care.
As awareness and adoption continue to grow, so will the opportunities to collaborate with forward-thinking healthcare operators bringing theranostics to patients across oncology, neurology and beyond.
At ImageOne, we’re excited to be part of that future – helping build the infrastructure, technology and strategic partnerships needed to support the continued growth of theranostics and the next generation of precision medicine.
Q: What’s one surprising or fun fact about your company that readers might not know?
ARCADI: We’re serious about where this industry is going. We just don’t believe you have to be serious every minute of the day to help lead it there.
At ImageOne, we’ve built a team and a culture that are a little different – and we’re proud of that.
Five military veterans are part of our ranks, bringing the discipline, leadership and sense of mission that come from serving our country. Two of our field service engineers also happen to be accomplished chefs, which means the same people who can troubleshoot some of the most sophisticated imaging technology in the world can also make an incredible meal.
And then there’s our South Florida headquarters.
Our facility sits in an airpark surrounded by acres of land, with a massive warehouse, an airstrip right outside our doors and, somewhat unexpectedly, a farm complete with cows and donkeys.
Yes, cows and donkeys.
Every now and then, you’ll find our team outside feeding them, filming them, laughing and enjoying a few minutes away from the intensity of the medical imaging world. It’s become part of who we are and a surprisingly effective stress-management program.
But behind the fun is something very intentional.
We’re building a company designed for where medical imaging and theranostics are headed next. We’re bringing together experienced engineers, veterans, builders, problem-solvers and some genuinely interesting people under one roof, with the facilities, technical capabilities and entrepreneurial mindset to tackle challenges differently.
We work hard. We take care of our customers. We take our mission seriously.
We just happen to have an airstrip, a couple of chefs, five veterans … and some cows and donkeys along for the ride.
The future of this industry is going to require companies willing to think differently, move quickly and build things that haven’t been built before.
That’s exactly the kind of company we’re building at ImageOne.
Video: A look at the airstrip outside ImageOne’s South Florida facility.
