Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, this scan is for individuals 18 years and older. This scan may not be suitable for individuals older than 65. Please discuss with your referring doctor and our Gold Coast team to determine if this scan is suitable for you.

Whole Body MRI™ does not attract a medicare rebate. We are unaware of any insurance companies in Australia that will cover the cost of out of hospital imaging, including Whole Body MRI™ for cancer screenings. However, it may be worth speaking to your insurance provider to check.

Yes. Most full-body MRI scans can detect cancer. However, not all full-body MRI’s are equal in their sensitivity to cancer or ability to characterise lesions (avoid indeterminate findings).

Rather than asking “can” it detect cancer, the important question to ask is “how early and accurately”. 

For a list of conditions Whole Body MRI can detect, visit Our Reports page. For further discussion, read our Resources post "What Can a Whole Body MRI Detect" and "What to Look for in a Whole Body MRI Provider"

We do not recommend stopping the scan once it has started. The scan has been mapped to your body position and any variations can impact the image quality. However, you will be able to stop the scan at any time in the case of an emergency.

This scan is intended to complement the standard of care screening tests as recommended by your Doctor.

Yes, all medical imaging performed at an accredited practice in Australia must have a valid referral from an appropriate medical professional. Referrals from international medical professionals are accepted where we are able to confirm the referrers registration from the relevant medical governing body. To learn more, read "Why We Require a Referral for Our Whole Body MRI".

MRI, including Whole Body MRI™ does not use harmful ionising radiation.

Please contact our Gold Coast clinic to discuss flexible payment options.

Yes, all Whole Body MRI™ bookings must be prepaid to secure your booking.

For our full-body MRI cancer screening scan we do not use MRI contrast. If you choose to undergo additional targeted imaging, MRI contrast may be recommended. The booking team will let you know if contrast is recommended for any additional imaging.

Please contact our Gold Coast facility, MBR Health (formerly Mermaid Beach Radiology) to book your Whole Body MRI™ package.

Our exclusive Whole Body MRI™ takes approximately 90-100 minutes of scan time. For the Advanced Whole Body MRI package, please allow 2-hours for your appointment. For the Executive Package, please allow up to 6 - 8 hours.

During your MRI scan, you will be able to relax with a movie, TV show, or music of your choice. 

The cost of our Whole Body MRI™ is based on table time, included technology, volume of data, and radiologist reporting time.

The price of a Whole Body MRI™ scan is set by the performing clinic. For packages available at MBR Health (formerly Mermaid Beach Radiology), view here. 

To learn more about our Package costs, read our Resource post "Why Our Whole Body MRI Costs More"

The answer to this question would depend on various clinical factors, such as known cancer risks, as well as personal preferences. At most, once a year, but we recommend you discuss this with your referring health professional.

Due to the booking duration, technologist preparations and lengthy waitlist, we ask that you kindly provide us at least two full business days notice for any cancellations by phone call. For cancellations less than two business days prior to booking, there is a cancellation fee. Please contact our Gold Coast facility for more information.

For concerns related to breast, prostate, ovarian, thyroid, lung and colon cancer – we recommend dedicated screening tests for the earliest detection of cancers in these organs. Some organs may be covered under population-based screening programs. Our partner clinic offers comprehensive screening packages with dedicated imaging evaluating these organs. We encourage you to speak to your Doctor whether additional screening tests may be beneficial to you.

Our partner clinic utilises a wide bore MRI scanner equipped with a specialised in-bore experience. During the scan, you will wear special mirror glasses which enable you to watch a movie or TV show during the scan to assist you in relaxing during the scan. We also recommend speaking to your referring doctor, as they may be able to prescribe medications. It is important to note that the cost of the scan is non-refundable in the event you are unable to complete the scan.

MRI safety is our top concern. Some implants are MRI safe, and others are not (e.g. pacemaker). Please contact the Whole Body MRI™ location of your preference to discuss whether this scan is safe for you.

Our Whole Body MRI™ screening scan is primarily a cancer screening scan for asymptomatic individuals. If you have symptoms, we recommend dedicated imaging in the first instance.

Currently, our exclusive technology is available in our Gold Coast facility, Mermaid Beach Radiology. Please contact the clinic to discuss availability, including travel arrangements.

For most individuals, full-body MRI is considered safe and does not use harmful ionising radiation. Generally, MRI is not suited for individuals with some implants such as a pacemaker.

Rest assured that the majority of individuals who undergo a Whole Body MRI™ scan have no concerning findings. Nearly all individuals have at least one finding, usually of limited concern. In the event that your Whole Body MRI™ scan identifies a potential health concern, your referring health professional will be notified.

It is important to note that while this scan utilises diagnostic techniques, it is still considered a screening test. As with all screening, indeterminate or concerning findings are recommended to be followed up with additional investigations. Our experienced radiologist will provide recommendations in follow up tests, for discussion with your referring health practitioner.

Whole Body MRI™ or partner clinics do not currently provide referrals to specialists or other health professionals.

Generally, MRI imaging is composed of one or more MRI sequences. Each sequence is optimised to highlight different aspects of tissue (e.g. fluid versus muscle), and is used to identify or rule out conditions. Of these sequences, there are two main types – anatomical and function. As its name suggests, “anatomical” sequences focus on visualising anatomy and structures similar to taking a picture of an object.

On the other hand, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a type of functional imaging. This sequence evaluates the relative “diffusion” or movement of water through the tissues. Impaired movement of water, relative to the surrounding tissue, is a well known marker of injury or hyper-celluarity, including cancer. The inclusion of DWI alongside anatomical sequences can reduce the number of indeterminate findings by assisting the radiologist determine if lesions are likely benign or cancerous.

However, full-body application of DWI suffers from distortion, or blurring, that is further amplified at high-magnetic strengths such as 3T. This limits other’s providers from using 3T for full-body screening. Other full-body providers may attempt to perform diffusion without geometric correction on 3T resulting in limited to no clinical information. Others may rely on cumbersome post-processing of 3T full-body DWI or omit DWI all together. Unique to Whole Body MRI™ we don’t have to compromise, we have solved this distortion problem!

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses a combination of strong magnetic field, radio-frequency and powerful computing systems to generate images of the body. Generally speaking, MRI leverages the physics of water and fat molecules in the body which produce bright or dark signals depending on the MRI sequence performed. Because tissues contain different amounts of water and fat (e.g. CSF vs muscle), radiologists are able to identify abnormalities within tissues.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Whole Body MRI are typically head-to-toe imaging commonly used in oncology settings for the diagnosis, staging and evaluation of treatment response. The difference between these imaging techniques comes down to the method of cancer-sensitive image acquisition. PET utilises an injection of IV radioactive tracer that is selectively taken up by tissues with high metabolic activity, including cancer. On the other hand, MRI can visualise relative water movement through tissues. Reduced water movement is a surrogate marker for disrupted tissue microstructure including inflammation and malignancy.

The difference between full-body MRI and full-body CT comes down to the way images are generated. While MRI uses magnetic fields, computed tomography uses ionising radiation. Whole body CT is not recommended for cancer screening in low-risk asymptomatic individuals due to potential harms associated with relatively large doses of radiation.

Currently, the wait time is up to 3-4 weeks. If you have your referral, you can ask to be put on our waitlist if any sooner appointments become available.

For optimal image quality, we ask individuals to avoid food and drinks containing caffeine and follow a low-fibre diet for 24 hours prior to their appointment. We also request that individuals complete bowel preparation the day before and fast for 6 hours prior to their scan. This preparation helps minimise air and bowel movement, ensuring clear imaging of the abdominal and pelvic organs.

On your arrival, we will provide you complementary bamboo loungewear for you to change into prior to your scan. We ask that you remove any jewellery prior to your imaging.

Many providers perform less imaging due to technology limitations (e.g. slower 1.5T) or omission of valuable MRI sequences such as full-body diffusion-weighted imaging (cancer-sensitive functional imaging). Our imaging also uniquely includes ultra-low dose CT Chest and CT Coronary Calcium score for better visualisation of lung and cardiac health.

To our knowledge, Whole Body MRI™ offers the most comprehensive head-to-toe screening commercially available worldwide. Our exclusive protocol performs anatomical and functional imaging at 3T. This enables us to conduct vastly more MRI sequences, with higher AI-powered resolution and superior signal-to-noise ratio, offering more accurate tissue characterisation and, in turn, greater confidence in the imaging.

We love to answer this question. It all comes down to the provider’s technical capabilities.

Generally, a stronger magnetic field (3T is twice as strong as 1.5T) translates to better anatomical image quality. However, full-body application of the cancer-sensitive sequence, known as diffusion-weighted imaging, is susceptible to increasing distortion at higher magnetic strength. This distortion problem results in reduced sensitivity and specificity increasing the likelihood of false positives or negatives, making 3T historically unreliable for cancer screening. As a result, other whole body providers opt for 1.5T (or omit diffusion imaging all together at 3T) as a result of technical limitations.

The team at Whole Body MRI™ exclusively eliminated distortion of full-body diffusion imaging at 3T, unlocking a ground-breaking level of sensitivity and precision, surpassing any capabilities previously reported in the MRI community. Without our exclusive Whole Body MRI™ innovation, the prevailing marketing narrative makes sense – if you are limited by the full-body diffusion distortion-dilemma at 3T, then by default 1.5T is “better” for whole body cancer screening.

Great question! Ultimately this comes down to our technology and vision. Our exclusive technology overcomes an industry-wide challenge, enabling us to uniquely acquire true head-to-toe diffusion-weighted imaging without distortion. This means we can perfectly co-register the cancer-sensitive imaging with higher-resolution anatomical imaging for a more accurate tissue characterisation.