Am I rich enough to pay for my own full-body MRI scan for peace of mind?

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The company offers full body scans for $2,999, and faster (under 30 minutes) head-to-mid-thigh scans for $1.499. Prenuvo memberships start at around $1700, and include the faster scan.

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Whole Body MRI in Ontario has two locations where opting for a scan not only benefits the body but also “peace of mind,” according to the company website. Their “signature” head/neck-to-knee scan costs $3,250; a $3,650 package includes a comprehensive blood work up.

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Where can you get them?

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In addition to clinics in major American cities, Prenuvo launched a mobile clinic near the U.S.-Canada border in Buffalo two years ago to meet what it described as a growing waitlist of Canadians. Restrictions on private imaging services in Ontario have so far stalled efforts to open a clinic in Toronto.

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“When we opened our Buffalo clinic, over 10,000 Canadians joined the waitlist,” said Prenuvo spokeswoman Christine Alabastro. “At peak, nearly 80 per cent of our patients were crossing the border from Canada.

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“Those numbers highlight the gap between what Canadians want and what the current system offers them.”

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Who is getting them?

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Full-body scans are marketed as “empowering,” a way to shift from a passive — let’s wait for symptoms to appear — to proactive — let’s get ahead of things — approach. They appeal to the “preventive medicine-oriented crowd,” said Dr. Dan Durand, chief medical officer at Prenuvo.

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When they first started out in Silicon Valley, clients were predominantly male biohacker types. Today, Prenuvo patients skew more female (close to 60 per cent) than male.

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Eighty per cent, regardless of sex, come without symptoms. Most have no chief complaints, though Canadian patients tend to be slightly older, and slightly sicker, often coming because of long MRI waitlists at home.

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How does it work?

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The scan takes roughly 40 to 100 minutes, depending on the package purchased. People must fast for several hours ahead of time. They’re given earplugs, headphones or both, to lessen noise from the thumping, knocking and banging from the magnetic fields generated.

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Organs scanned include the brain, spine, lung, liver, gallbladder, spleen, bladder, pancreas, ovaries and uterus in women, and prostate in men.

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Days later, people receive the results that are then discussed in a follow-up with a nurse practitioner or other licensed provider, Durand said. “It’s like a 30-page book, your personal owner’s manual.”

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The scans can show “normal” or “informational findings,” he explained. Other times the scans detect things of “moderate severity,” like early signs of arthritis or fat in the liver. “It isn’t like something you’re going to need to see the doctor about immediately,” unless, say, it’s a high degree of fatty liver.

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Is it worth it?

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Professional organizations such as the Canadian Association of Radiologists, among others, strongly oppose whole-body MRI screening in symptom-free people.

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“There is no compelling evidence from high-quality studies demonstrating that whole-body MRI screening in asymptomatic individuals improves long-term health outcomes, reduces morbidity or mortality or leads to better health at the population level,” reads the Canadian radiologists policy statement.

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Among the concerns are the risk of false positives and “incidentalomas” — masses or tumours of uncertain or dubious significance that often require more invasive testing, biopsies or even surgeries to rule out, shifting the burden of follow-up to the publicly funded system.