Whole-body MRI providers compared.And eight questions that decide.

In Germany there are four types of provider. Radiology centres offer the scan as a self-pay service, but without laboratory work, without functional diagnostics and usually without an in-depth consultation. US providers such as Ezra and Prenuvo specialise in imaging but are based abroad. Private clinics with check-up departments book the MRI as a module within a multi-hour preventive programme. Longevity clinics treat the MRI as one component alongside laboratory work, functional diagnostics and follow-up. YEARS belongs to the last category: the whole-body MRI is part of a diagnostic day in Berlin from the Evolve programme upwards.

In Berlin there are essentially three groups beyond the regular practice. First, radiology centres offering preventive MRI as a standalone service. Second, private clinics and check-up departments of larger institutions with classic executive screening programmes. Third, physician-led preventive and longevity clinics where imaging, laboratory work and functional diagnostics come together in one day. YEARS belongs to the third group and is located in City West, around 15 minutes from the main station. Which group fits depends on whether you want an image or an interpretation.

For a specific clinical question a single scan can be exactly right, and then a radiology centre is the fastest and cheapest route. As prevention, the isolated scan has two weaknesses. First, an MRI shows structures but no organ function and no metabolic processes: an unremarkable scan says nothing about your lipids, your blood sugar or your capacity. Second, whole-body MRIs frequently find things of no clinical significance. Without medical interpretation that leads either to unnecessary worry or to a chain of further investigations that nobody coordinates.

The whole-body MRI runs on a high-resolution 3-Tesla scanner with our own preventive protocol, radiation-free, contrast agent is not required, and the scan takes around 60 minutes. What matters is the context: laboratory diagnostics and more than 25 functional examinations run the same day, including echocardiography, vascular and abdominal ultrasound, body plethysmography and spiroergometry. A specialist discusses the overall findings with you, and where findings are abnormal we coordinate referral. The MRI is included from Evolve.

Cardiac diagnostics with us are performed by echocardiography and ultrasound, not by MRI. For lung cancer screening the MRI is not an established method; low-dose CT is the tool of choice there for the appropriate risk profile. Nor does it replace bowel cancer screening, where colonoscopy remains the standard. And it is not a test that rules out cancer: an MRI can miss small findings, and an unremarkable scan is no guarantee. Anyone selling it differently is overstating the evidence.

An isolated preventive scan at a radiology centre is the cheapest option; prices differ considerably by provider and protocol. Embedded in a programme it is more expensive, because laboratory work, functional diagnostics and physician time are paid for too. At YEARS the whole-body MRI is included from the Evolve programme at €7,600, together with 120 laboratory markers and liquid biopsy. We bill according to GOÄ, so reimbursement is possible depending on your policy. German statutory health insurance generally does not cover preventive MRI.