What can the MRI detect regarding specific conditions or body parts?
Our Ahead Health check-up is a full-body preventive screening. It is not primarily designed for diagnosing acute symptoms or specific, pre-existing conditions that already have a diagnostic pathway. For those, you should consult your GP or a specialist.
Gallstones: We do not offer treatments like lithotripsy. While the gallbladder is scanned, a targeted diagnostic test is better for known gallstone issues.
Lyme Disease (Borreliose): Our scan is not a diagnostic test for Lyme disease; specialized blood tests via your GP are needed. However, our scan might pick up general inflammatory markers.
Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS: These are diagnosed clinically. Our scan is not specific for them but can help rule out other underlying physical causes for symptoms.
Colon Cancer: The scan may show potential signs but is not a definitive diagnostic tool like a colonoscopy. It generally does not detect colon polyps smaller than 5mm.
Lungs: The MRI may detect lung masses, nodules, and other chest abnormalities. For more detailed lung imaging, a low-dose CT can be arranged on request.
Gut Problems: Our MRI assesses major abdominal organs (liver, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, gallbladder) and can identify issues like tumors, fatty liver disease, or kidney stones. It also measures visceral fat. However, it is not designed for complex gut disorders requiring specialized bowel examination.
What organs and conditions does the Ahead scan primarily screen for?
Our comprehensive scan provides insights into:
Brain Health: Screens for aneurysms, MS plaques, and early signs of neurodegeneration (e.g., Alzheimer's, dementia) by assessing brain structure and vessels.
Cardiovascular Health: Assesses atherosclerosis risk and metabolic syndrome through markers like cholesterol, ApoB, hs-CRP, and imaging of visceral adipose tissue.
Metabolic Function: Checks for diabetes risk and metabolic syndrome via glucose, HbA1c, and fat indices.
Liver Function: May detect NAFLD (fatty liver), iron overload (hemochromatosis), and liver tumors through blood markers and quantitative liver imaging.
Kidney Function: Screens for chronic kidney disease (CKD), nephropathy, and kidney stones/cysts by analyzing blood markers and kidney size/volume.
Immune System & Inflammation: Monitors for chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation using CBC and hs-CRP, and spleen volume.
Muscle & Bone Health: Assesses for sarcopenia, muscle asymmetry, disc degeneration, and osteoporotic fractures through imaging of muscle quality/volume and relevant blood markers like Vitamin D.
Men's Health: Includes bi-parametric prostate MRI to screen for BPH, prostatitis, and prostate cancer. Relevant hormone levels can be checked with the hormone panel.
Women's Health: High-resolution pelvic MRI screens for conditions like endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, and ovarian/endometrial cancer. Relevant hormone levels can be checked with the hormone panel.
Vitamins: May identify deficiencies (e.g., Vitamin D) with the Advanced blood test. Additional vitamins available via B-vitamin and other add-ons.
Body Composition: Quantifies visceral and subcutaneous fat volumes, muscle fat infiltration (PDFF), and muscle volumes.
Limitations:
The current MRI protocol does not cover arms, hands, lower legs below the knee, feet, or shoulders. See our conditions overview for a full list of what our screening may detect.
