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They are led by radiologist Yosef “Sefi” Chodakiewitz, MD, Project Hercules aims to enroll 100,000 adults, with a focus on medically underserved populations. Chodakiewitz and colleagues hope up to half (and at least 10%) of participants meet health equity qualifications, with the company subsidizing participation costs among this group.
“There is an unmet health system need to enable detection of early-stage disease processes before they become irreversible chronic or progressive clinical disease states, when gentler, less invasive and less costly interventions (or even sometimes risk factor management) are more likely to have a chance at preventing or reversing the course of the disease,” Chodakiewitz said in an announcement. “Through the unique Prenuvo-sponsored scientific study at the Hercules Research Center, we hope to demonstrate how early detection through [whole body] MRI can fundamentally change the way we approach health and disease.”
Only about 14% of cancers are diagnosed through recommended “gold standard” screening tests, Prenuvo noted. This results in radiologists unearthing cases in which symptoms have already arisen, and the prognosis has potentially worsened. Prenuvo hopes that its whole-body exam—which costs about $2,500 and lasts 60 minutes—will help to catch cases earlier.
Chodakiewitz and colleagues believe this is the largest study of its kind on whole-body MRI. The company plans to subsidize 50% to 100% of participation costs for individuals meeting certain requirements. This includes being a SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) user, with Prenuvo hoping to ensure broad participation among medically underserved populations.
“By investing in the largest clinical study of the effectiveness of clinical-grade MRI screening ever conducted, Prenuvo’s goal is to pave the way for such technology to be standard of care and available to all,” CEO Andrew Lacy told Longevity Technology news. “Doing so will lead to longevity improvements that are measured in years for all and produce a leaner health system focused on proactive rather than reactive medicine.”
Others such as radiology practice SimonMed and startup Ezra also have sought to capitalize on the burgeoning whole-body MRI market. However, some have criticized the business model, concerned the exams could lead to additional tests and procedures for findings that have little to no clinical significance.
Kim Kardashian Promotes Cindy Crawford Whole-Body MRI Service Prenuvo
Kim Kardashian recently received a full-body MRI scan from imaging startup Prenuvo, drawing scorn from some fans and physicians.
She shared her experience Tuesday via Instagram, hoping to inform her 363 million followers about this “lifesaving machine.” The California-based wellness company offers an imaging exam to asymptomatic individuals for a $2,500 out-of-pocket charge, empowering consumers to “take charge of their health.”
“The Prenuvo full-body scan has the ability to detect cancer and diseases such as aneurysms in its earliest stages, before symptoms arise,” Kardashian posted Aug. 8. “It was like getting a MRI for an hour with no radiation. It has really saved some of my friends lives and I just wanted to share #NotAnAd.”
The company and its services have drawn considerable interest, raising $70 million from investors including Cindy Crawford. Prenuvo launched ambitious expansion plans earlier this year, opening several new locations across major cities, and it has now performed “tens of thousands” of scans across the country.
Her announcement drew criticism from both fans and members of the medical community, including those who asserted that magnetic resonance imaging does not require radiation (nor is Prenuvo’s service “like an MRI,” it is an MRI). Members of the specialty have advocated against the practice of imaging individuals without any ailments, which can trigger additional workups, biopsies, exams and procedures for findings that end up being of little importance. In an interview with George V Magazine last December, radiologist Matthew Davenport, MD, vice chair of the ACR’s Quality and Safety Commission, called the service a “terrible idea.”
“One of the biggest celebrities KimKardashian is freely (#NotanAd she says) promoting a [company] that scans asymptomatic people. Most MDs advise against this. Who will people trust? You already know the answer,” radiologist Tarang Patel, MD, posted to social media.
One of the biggest celebrities @KimKardashian is freely(#notanad she says) promoting a co that scans asymptomatic people. Most MDs advise against this. Who will people trust? You already know the answer (but @washingtonpost thinks doctors are the greedy ones)???? pic.twitter.com/zLlfM2tk6k
— Doctor Money Matters (@drmoneymatters) August 9, 2023
“I can see how for a lay person or tech bro it is hard to grasp why discovering the ‘problem’ ‘early’ can not only be unhelpful but also harmful,” responded Amit Achhra, MD, PhD, a researcher and infectious disease expert with Yale Medicine. “Situation [is] very unique to human medicine. We need good examples and stories in media so lay people can understand.”
Cindy Crawford founded and operated by Radiologist Raj Attariwala, MD, PhD who says its model is based on more than 10 years of clinical work. Prenuvo’s scanners can check for over 500 conditions, including solid tumors, and it estimates that 1 in every 20 patients are alerted to “lifesaving diagnoses.”
“After creating a customized radiation free MRI technology in 2011 and meeting directly with thousands of patients and their physicians over the course of a decade, we have built a powerful process with unique capabilities,” Attariwala said in a June announcement of a new partnership with age-management platform Cenegenics.
Radiology practice SimonMed Imaging also launched its own whole-body MRI offering in June, charging much less than startups such as Prenuvo.
The Boston Globe recently profiled Prenuvo, which is based in California and says it’s “on a mission to allow consumers to take charge of their health.” Back in October, the company made a splash by raising $70 million from venture capital firm Felicis and super model/wellness investor Cindy Crawford, among others.
Prenuvo is now ramping up expansion with plans to launch in Boston, along with other upcoming openings in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Toronto. That’s in addition to already-operating outposts in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Boca Raton, Dallas, Vancouver and Minneapolis.
However, some are expressing concern that the service could cause more harm than good. Catherine Livingston, MD, a family medicine specialist who served as lead author of a 2016 report recommending against this practice, is one such skeptic.
“There is certainly not enough known about the use of [artificial intelligence] in direct-to-consumer imaging services,” Livingston, an associate professor of family medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine, told the newspaper. “We don’t even know that the benefits outweigh harms for whole body scans in asymptomatic people. Adding in … AI is a Pandora’s box.”
Radiologist Matthew Davenport, MD, was blunter when asked for his own assessment of the business model.
“It is a terrible idea,” Davenport, who is vice chair of the American College of Radiology’s Quality and Safety Commission, told George V Magazine back in December. “You find all sorts of stuff that would never occur to the patient. And you end up triggering workups, biopsies for imaging studies, operations, for findings in the body that would never have any importance for the patient.”
Prenuvo is offering the scans with AI for a charge of $2,499, and it’s already provided about 250,000 overall diagnoses to its patients, the Globe wrote March 20. Roughly 5% of those have been labeled as serious concerns requiring immediate follow-up. The company declined to say how many patients it has scanned since launching in 2018, but noted that some individuals have received multiple diagnoses. Issues unearthed have included stage 1 liver, kidney, pancreatic and brain cancer, along with herniated discs and arthritis.
Andrew Lacy, Prenuvo’s founder and chief executive, said his company plans to partner with researchers to further study its model. It has not yet published data but plans to soon in concert with the American Academy of Neurology conference, among other events.
“The current healthcare system is reactive. For many, health information comes too late, once a disease or condition has progressed, has symptoms, and is more difficult and expensive to treat,” Lacy said in a statement last fall announcing the $70 million fundraising round. “Our series A financing is validation of Prenuvo’s mission to catch conditions before they become crises and transform the healthcare approach as we know it to one that is rooted in proactive health.”
Others pitching in at the time included bestselling author and Nest founder Tony Fadell, 23&Me CEO Anne Wojcicki, and billionaire scientist Timothy A. Springer, PhD. At the time, Prenuvo said it planned to use the funds to invest in its AI team, new radiology tools, custom advanced-MRI builds and national expansion plans.
The scans cover 26 regions of the body in under one hour, allowing physicians employed by Prenuvo to screen for and diagnose more than 500 conditions “at a fraction of the cost of traditional MRI.” Lacy and colleagues said they’ve seen revenues grow by 240% year-over-year and had seven current clinics as of the fall.