Full body MRI in Dubai, what it costs and who it suits

What a scan costs in Dubai

MRI Dubai publishes two packages. The Advanced Full Body MRI costs AED 17,200 and adds a detailed scan of the brain, both shoulders, the whole spine, both knees and both ankles [1]. The Basic Full Body MRI costs AED 7,000, takes about 45 to 50 minutes and runs from the head to the upper thighs, with the brain at screening level. Both include a consultation with the radiologist once the report is ready [1].

King's College Hospital Dubai offers a full body scan of 60 to 90 minutes, read by consultant radiologists with a report within 3 working days, and does not publish a price [2]. MRI Dubai states that a screening scan is not usually covered by insurance, so expect to pay for it yourself [3].

Do you need a referral

The answer depends on the provider. Doctors Clinic Diagnostic Center in Dubai Healthcare City says that a self-pay scan does not need a referral [4]. Innovation Family Polyclinic says an MRI must be prescribed by a doctor [5]. Ask before you book, and if you have symptoms, see a doctor first, because a scan chosen for a symptom is a different scan.

Whichever route you take, a doctor should see the report with you. Both MRI Dubai packages include a consultation with the radiologist once the report is ready, which answers what the images show. What to do about a finding is a separate question, and it is best answered by a doctor who knows your history and can arrange the next test.

What a scan finds, and what it misses

A whole body scan finds a great deal, and most of it is harmless. A review of 12 studies of 5,373 people without symptoms found that 32.1% had a finding a radiologist would call critical or uncertain. In the studies that checked, 16.0% of findings turned out to be false alarms [6].

Serious findings are less common. A review in the BMJ of 32 studies and 27,643 adults without symptoms found a potentially serious finding in 3.9% of brain and body scans, rising to 12.8% when uncertain findings were counted. Where those findings were followed up, only 48 of 234 turned out to be serious [7].

The American College of Radiology does not recommend a total body MRI for people without symptoms, risk factors or a family history, because no study has yet shown that it helps people live longer [8]. MRI Dubai notes that its scan does not look at the heart in detail [3]. Keep up with the screening your doctor already recommends, because a whole body scan has not been tested against it.

Who it suits, and who should wait

A scan suits someone who wants a baseline, accepts that something will probably be found, and has a doctor who will decide calmly what needs following up. It suits less well someone who will worry for weeks over a small cyst, or who has no one to explain the report.

If you are uneasy in enclosed spaces, ask for a wide bore scanner. Both MRI Dubai and Doctors Clinic Diagnostic Center describe theirs as wide bore [3] [4]. Tell the clinic in advance about any metal implant, pacemaker or pregnancy.

Five questions to ask before you book

The answers decide what you are paying for, more than the name of the package.

• Which parts of my body does the scan cover, and which does it leave out?
• Is my brain scanned in detail or at screening level?
• Who reports the scan, and how soon will I have it?
• Will a doctor go through the report with me in person?
• If something is found, who arranges the next test, and what does it cost?

How a scan will work with us

Our full body MRI in Dubai costs from AED 19,000, read by a consultant radiologist. Your own doctor will go through every finding with you, decide with you what needs following up and arrange it, so a finding never leaves you on your own with a report.