2023-09-14 09:43:38
Kim Kardashian assures us: the MRI from the startup Prenuvo can save lives. Radiologists are less convinced.
The hypochondriac that I am, dreams somewhat shamefully: having my entire body scanned to be certain that no tumor silently threatens my existence. In North America, it has become a reality accessible to the richest. For $2,500, the Canadian startup Prenuvo offers full-body MRIs, without the need for a prescription, tell it Washington Post. Other services like that of the New York company Ezra are slightly less expensive: $1,350 for the entry-level scan.
The procedure lasts one hour and the analysis of the images makes it possible to detect various diseases including cancers at early stages. On social networks, we can read numerous testimonials from people thanking this technology for having saved them from a stroke, or from cancer treated early enough. A certain Ryan Crownholm, a 46-year-old entrepreneur living in Los Angeles, tweeted this in December 2022, following using the services of Prenuvo: “So I had a scan. A very large renal cell carcinoma was discovered hiding inside my body. I had my kidney removed and I no longer have cancer. Thank you friends ! »
Kim K just wants to “stay alive for her children”
Kim Kardashian herself describes Prenuvo as “a machine that saves lives”. In an Instagram post, we can see her posing in front of the startup’s design MRI. “NotanAd” she says in the caption. Kim Kardashian does not have any particular problem, it’s just that like all mothers “she wants to stay alive for her children”, explains Dr. Raj Attariwala, co-founder of the startup, at Washington Post.
All mothers who have a lot of money, anyway. The others will just eat fewer cupcakes and get back into exercise. Because if Prenuvo and its competitors hope to democratize their technology, for the moment, their customers belong to the wealthiest 1%. They live in Silicon Valley, Dallas, New York, Miami and Los Angeles where his clinics are. Many are part of the tech sector, and fund these companies in addition to using their services.
One of Ezra’s investors is Bryan Johnson, a serial entrepreneur obsessed with the idea of getting younger. On social networks, he shares the details of his multiple daily tests and his draconian diet in order to gain a few years of life expectancy. Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe DNA tests and a fan of health tech of all kinds, is also a customer and investor in Ezra and Prenuvo, reports Washington Post.
The quantified self at its climax
These full-body scans mark the resurgence of quantified selfthis trend which consists of calculating the smallest corners of one’s daily life and the smallest signals sent by one’s body in order to improve sleep, diet, cognitive abilities… And above all: increasing one’s longevity, the obsession of ultra- rich.
According to a survey published this summer by A/B Consulting and Maveron VC firm, 46% of Americans earning more than $250,000 per year are willing to spend the majority of their income on their health and life expectancy, compared to 30% of those earning less than $50,000 per year. 41% of the richest are ready to “upload their brain” to live longer, 40% are OK to modify the genes of their children and ensure their health and longevity, and 42%, to follow risky treatments.
However, these scans are far from unanimous among doctors. The medical profession recognizes that cancers are generally treated too late, but no institution recognizes full MRI as a solution. In April, the American College of Radiology released a statement saying there was “no documented evidence that total body scanning is cost-effective or effective in prolonging life.”
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