Celebrities are praising a full-body scanner that supposedly detects more than 500 diseases, including cancer, but experts have branded the technology “useless”.
Prenuvo, a health startup, claims its $2,500 MRI can detect cancer and other chronic diseases even before symptoms appear.
The Vancouver-based company says its scanners can detect conditions that might go undetected in a regular check-up and the tests have received praise from celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Cindy Crawford.
However, the high cost and the fact that they are not covered by insurance means that the service is inaccessible to most people.
But as diseases like cancer rise across the United States, particularly among younger people, the company’s founders say the high price is worth it.
Dr. Daniel Durand, a radiologist and medical director at Prenuvo, told AP: “We’re trying to give people the opportunity to be more proactive about their health.”
But many medical experts say the company is selling expensive, unproven technology that can lead to overdiagnosis and missing rising diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
Kim Kardashian posted on Instagram about her full-body MRI done with Prenuvo and claimed the technology is “saving her life.” However, doctors warn there is no evidence to support its effectiveness
This photograph provided by Prenuvo in July 2024 shows an MRI scanner that uses magnetic fields to produce detailed images of organs, bones, and other structures inside the body. Unlike many other types of scans, MRIs do not use radiation.
Last year, Kim Kardashian promoted the scans, calling them a “lifesaver.”
“The Prenuvo full body scanner has the ability to detect cancer and diseases like aneurysms in their early stages, before symptoms appear,” she wrote on Instagram. “It has truly saved one of my friends’ lives and I just wanted to share it.”
However, experts have warned that the technology is not worth it for the average patient in good health and without symptoms.
MRI, which stands for magnetic resonance imaging, uses magnetic fields to produce detailed images of organs, bones, and other structures inside the body without using radiation.
They are typically ordered to help diagnose cancer, brain injuries, damaged blood vessels, and other medical conditions.
Full-body scans can last an hour or more, with patients lying still inside a cylindrical tube.
Most experts only recommend routine full-body scans for certain high-risk groups, such as people who have a higher genetic risk of cancer.
Dr. Ernest Hawk, vice chairman of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told AP: “MRIs are excellent for what they’re normally used for.”
“But now we’re moving them much earlier into an average-risk population, and that’s where we may run into questions that haven’t been answered.”
Dr. Mina Makary, a radiologist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said the likelihood of finding a serious problem, such as a cancerous tumor or brain aneurysm, in someone who has no symptoms is low.
Definitely ruling out a problem may require additional tests, appointments, and even surgery.
“In the end, you’re going to find a lot of incidental things,” he said. “That’s going to lead to more psychological stress or trauma for the patient, including additional costs for tests and procedures that may have risks.”
Actress and singer Kate Hudson has also posted about her experience with the full-body scanner.
Actress Eva Mendes also underwent a Prenuvo full-body scan, although she acknowledged it was prohibitively expensive for most people.
Experts also worry that people who undergo MRI scans may start skipping other routine exams, such as mammograms.
The American College of Radiology does not recommend MRI screening in asymptomatic people, stating that there is “no documented evidence” that the technique is “cost-effective or effective in prolonging life.”
And the FDA has not approved any MRI machines for preventive screening, but doctors are free to use the devices as they prefer.
“This is not an appropriate screening tool for a wide variety of human diseases and potentially emerging conditions,” Dr. Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine physician in New York, previously told DailyMail.com. “It’s not a screening tool.”
Dr. Fischer said preventive MRIs don’t show many diseases that are on the rise in the U.S., including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, hypertension and high cholesterol.
For example, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that diabetes was responsible for more than 400,000 deaths worldwide in 2021.
“A screening MRI will not detect these symptoms at any point,” Dr. Fischer said.
Prenuvo recently announced plans to screen 100,000 people and study their health over time.
The study is not expected to be completed until at least 2034.
Most people who enroll in the Prenuvo study are expected to pay a $2,200 fee, but over time academic or government studies could offer people the chance to participate in such research without having to pay out of pocket.
“This is a great area to be involved in a research study that could provide the information you’re looking for, while also helping to answer whether this is beneficial or not,” Dr. Hawk said.
“But doing it outside a studio makes no sense.”