My First Full-body MRI

After many years, I finally had my first full-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan at Prenuvo, a health technology company that offers a revolutionary approach to health screening via full-body MRI scans. Although I’ve had MRIs in the past to assess specific areas of my body, this was a completely different and much-improved experience. Allow me to explain the numerous benefits associated with using Prenuvo’s full-body MRI scans for health screening purposes.

I first learned of Prenuvo when Peter Attia interviewed the company’s founding radiologist—Dr. Rajpaul (Raj) Attariwala—back in 2019. Something that immediately caught my attention at the time was the fact that Dr. Attariwala was an engineer (PhD in biomedical engineering) prior to becoming an M.D. (nuclear medicine radiologist). During this interview, he shared his passion for innovating new medical technologies as well as how his cross-disciplinary background feeds his ability to bridge conversations between medical professionals and engineers.

Why Prenuvo?

As a husband and father of three kids, I realize it’s so important to do what I can for the sake of preventive health. Medical imaging has gained significant strides since the dawn of X-rays and ultrasounds. However, despite the numerous benefits associated with MRI scans, traditional MRI machines can only capture images of a specific body part at one time: making it difficult to obtain a comprehensive view of the entire body in an efficient manner. This is precisely where Prenuvo comes in.

Unlike traditional MRI machines, Prenuvo’s full-body MRI scans provide a comprehensive view of the entire body and therefore pave the way for the early detection of potential health issues that are sometimes not visible with traditional screening methods. Although the $2,499 USD full-body MRI price tag is certainly not cheap (often with no medical insurance coverage available), it’s important to keep in mind that Prenuvo screens for 500 cancers and diseases. For me personally, I ultimately decided the cost is well worth it as this technology can:

• Establish a broad baseline
• Screen for any unexpected (and potentially cancerous) tumors/abnormal masses
• Help me better understand my musculoskeletal system (as more things seem to ache more with age)

Want to learn more? This 30-minute YouTube video offers informative content that can help you better understand some key Prenuvo scans.

Booking My Appointment

In short, the appointment-booking process was easy—and I’m still surprised by how quickly everything came together! Although Prenuvo does not have a Seattle location, I realized I could tack my visit onto an upcoming work trip and not have to take a PTO day to pop into their Redwood City, CA facility. So, close to midnight on Feb 7th, I finally explored scheduling options—and was pleasantly surprised to see they had 6:30am appointments available with the full-body scan estimated to take 1 hour, meaning I could fit my visit into my busy schedule without the need to waste precious PTO: a true win/win!

Pre-scan Prep

As you would expect for any healthcare appointment these days, I was tasked with filling out a variety of medical history forms (all online). Some of the questions were meant to ensure I didn’t have metallic objects in my body (as the “M” in MRI stands for “magnetic”). The online forms were extensive but easy to complete.

Morning of The Scan

Upon arriving 15 minutes early as requested, I checked in and was led to a changing room stocked with scrubs (pants, not open-back gowns) and boasting a locker to store my belongings. I was then greeted by the MRI technician, who asked me a few basic questions. While walking to the MRI area, I learned that Prenuvo’s Redwood City location had three MRI machines and that it was possible to book a multi-patient group scan, as all 3 machines can be utilized in parallel.

Although this was my first full-body MRI experience, it in fact marked my third-ever MRI. Asked whether I wanted to watch a show on Netflix or YouTube, I was surprised.

During my previous two MRIs, I stared at the top of the MRI machine bore, as my face was 2″ to 3″ away from it. In contrast, Prenuvo’s MRI machines have large bore area (meaning the area where the patient lies down). Although my eyes were covered (I’ll explain momentarily), I enjoyed more space between my face and the top of the bore than I had while situated inside prior MRI machines.

Scan Time

After lying down on the MRI machine bed, I was provided with a button to click in the event I needed to talk with the MRI technician at any point during the process (similar to my previous MRI experiences). What was different about Prenuvo, however, was that I was covered with a plastic apparatus and secured down—just as I had seen online prior to my arrival. Though the straps were snug, I never felt confined in this position.

The MRI technician then placed a mirror over my eyes that was angled 45 degrees, allowing me to watch the Netflix/YouTube show projected behind me. At first, I was nervous this would be awkward—but it was in fact an awesome experience.

What I learned

I received my report on March 10th (about 2.5 weeks after the scan) and had my consultation 5 days later. Luckily, the scans had found nothing adverse in my nervous, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, urinary, reproductive, and digestive systems. My musculoskeletal systems did have some age-related degeneration in my knees, shoulders, and ankles, though this was perhaps not surprising given those afore-mentioned “aches.”

All in all, I’m glad I chose to get my full-body MRI at Prenuvo. The medical information I received was invaluable and will remain useful for years to come. Perhaps you’ll feel the same.