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An MRI is an important imaging tool that can give doctors a lot of very valuable information when it comes to diagnosing health problems with their patients. In general, most people will only ever get an MRI if there is something wrong and the doctors need to know exactly what it is.
That, however, is slowly changing with private services offering MRI and other medical scans to anyone who wants them (and is willing to pay). Services like Prenuvo are growing in popularity, especially due to celebrities like Kim Kardashian recommending them.
Some doctors say that getting these so-called, “whole body” scans is a waste of time and money, and in some cases, it can actually be worse. For most people, the scan will revel nothing, which isn’t surprising since the people getting them often go in with no symptoms. For others, it will reveal some type of abnormality, which can then be investigated further by other doctors. The problem with this is that there are many types of abnormalities that don’t cause any problems at all. This means that a lot of time and resources are wasted tracking down potential issues that come with no symptoms.
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Sometimes, however, this type of scan can reveal a very serious medical issue and has the potential to save the life of the patient. That is what happened to Sarah Blackburn, according to a report in People. She paid $2499 to get an MRI, and documented her experience in a series of TikTok videos. She does have a history of cancer in the family, so she felt that it made sense to take this precaution.
When the scan came back, she discovered that her spleen had an aneurysm, which is a very serious condition. Armed with these scans, she went to several doctors to determine what the next steps should be, and according to her videos, they all reported that the spleen should be removed.
“They all came to the same spot where they were like, yeah, it’s gotta go.”
The aneurysm could have caused life threatening issues in the future without any warning. This is just one example of how these types of services can be life saving in some situations. There is no doubt that a traditional doctor would not have given her the scan since there were no known symptoms at the time.
Some people complain that having these MRIs and other scanning services available like this makes it so only the rich can afford to get the best health care. While it is certainly true that these types of whole body scans are almost exclusively used by those who are well-off financially, that does not mean that they should not exist at all.
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Most new technologies and innovations start off as being only available for those who can afford them. As the wealthy pay the high prices that are demanded initially, more and more companies will see that there is demand for such services. This means that more companies will enter the market, which drives the price down. In addition, as more demand for MRIs and other scanning machines are needed, the manufacturers of these things will be able to take advantage of economies of scale to make them for cheaper.
While it may take some time, having these types of services has the potential to make them more affordable for everyone, even the poor.
If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.