Private equity-backed radiology provider Rayus partners with AI startup to launch nationwide whole-body MRI offering
Private equity backed radiology provider Rayus is partnering with a growing startup company to launch a nationwide whole body MRI offering, the two announced Monday.
Ezra in February revealed it had raised $21 million in capital with plans to launch 50 new locations in 2024. Now the New York-based healthcare company is collaborating with Rayus Radiology to roll out its product across all 150 of its freestanding imaging centers.
Ezra charges $950 to $2,500 for MRI exams of healthy individuals and analyzes them with FDA-cleared artificial intelligence software to diagnose concerns before they become problematic. It’s capitalizing on a growing trend alongside other whole body MRI providers such as startup Prenuvo and radiology practice SimonMed Imaging.
“After careful due diligence, we are excited to make full body MRI screening available through our nationwide network of imaging facilities via our technology partnership with Ezra, the AI leaders in this space,” Kim Tzoumakas, CEO of Rayus Radiology, said in an April 15 announcement.
Ezra’s AI software can monitor for cancer and over 500 other conditions in up to 13 organs. The whole body MRI model has drawn concern from some in the specialty, such as the American College of Radiology. While this practice may unearth legitimate concerns, it also is expensive and can lead to cascading additional healthcare services for potentially insignificant findings.
The startup claims it is the first to globally leverage AI across all three components of cancer screening—imaging, analysis and reporting—using a direct-to-consumer model. Its tools include Ezra Prostate AI, which aids radiologists in the analysis of MR images.
“Cancer is most curable when detected early, and our mission at Ezra is to detect cancer early for everyone in the world. I’m incredibly excited to be working with Rayus on making Ezra available to more people in the U.S. and look forward to saving lives together,” Emi Gal, founder and CEO of Ezra, said in the announcement.
Formerly known as the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Rayus is supported by New York private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management. The radiology group bills itself as the “nation’s leading subspecialty practice for advanced diagnostic and interventional radiology,” employing more than 3,000 team members at its headquarters in Minneapolis and nationwide.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.