Startup Prenuvo to park ‘luxury’ whole-body MRI truck on Canadian border amid regulatory challenges

Prenuvo, an imaging startup backed by super model Cindy Crawford, is launching its first mobile whole-body MRI clinic.

The California-based company decided to create the new offering amid “strong” demand for its services. Founded in 2018, Prenuvo offers healthy patients a 60-minute MRI scan for $2,499 aimed at unearthing clinical concerns before they become symptomatic. The company has drawn interest from celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, who promoted the scans last year on social media.

Prenuvo decided to open the clinic after facing challenges expanding its services in Canada. Originally started in Vancouver, the company has confronted “significant barriers due to restrictions on private imaging services in Ontario.” While other private companies are already performing whole-body scans in the province, Prenuvo has “yet to be provided a path to operate in the state.”

This despite the firm grappling with a growing list of 10,000-plus Canadians waiting to undergo MRIs.

"As a Canadian-founded company, it’s disappointing to encounter barriers in expanding to Ontario,” CEO Andrew Lacy said in a statement issued Aug. 22. “We have sought opportunities without government funding or disrupting existing systems, aiming solely to provide proactive screenings for private patients. These efforts have sadly been unsuccessful to date. Canadians deserve better access to proactive healthcare, and our new mobile clinic is a significant interim step toward meeting this growing demand and improving accessibility. We continue to talk with the Ontario government and hope to achieve a better resolution for Torontonians in the future." 

Prenuvo plans to park the mobile clinic in Buffalo, New York, near the U.S.-Canada border. It will offer the same “comprehensive experience” patients receive at any of Prenuvo’s other 15 brick-and-mortar locations currently open, with 13 more on the way. Operating outposts now span New York City, Buffalo, N.Y., Redwood City, Calif., Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Boca Raton, Fla., Chicago, Hercules Research Center in Boston, Bethesda, Md., Atlanta, Vancouver, and a partner location in Minneapolis. 

Prenuvo is opening the center in partnership with OWM Integrative Wellness, a concierge medical service operating since 2014.

Whole-body MRI scans have grown in popularity recently, with radiology groups such as SimonMed Imaging and Rayus Radiology also offering them. The American College of Radiology does not support whole-body MR imaging of healthy patients.

“To date, there is no documented evidence that total body screening is cost-efficient or effective in prolonging life,” the college said in a statement issued last year amid growing interest in the service. “In addition, the ACR is concerned that such procedures will lead to the identification of numerous nonspecific findings that will not ultimately improve patients' health but will result in unnecessary follow-up testing and procedures, as well as significant expense.”