Ezra, a New York City-based health technology startup offering cancer screening, opened two locations in the Seattle area this week.
Founded in 2018, Ezra has 37 locations across the U.S. where patients can get full-body MRI scans in 30 minutes that the company says can detect cancer and more than 500 other conditions. Ezra says it has found early cancer in 6% of its customers.
Ezra is one of several new tech startups selling full-body scans that use latest AI and machine learning technology, with the promise of catching disease early. Ezra says its tech allows MRI machines to take photos at faster speeds and can enhance the quality of the images. It also creates 3D model visualizations of the prostate, and converts radiology reports into more digestible summaries.
Other similar scanning startups include Prenuvo and Neko Health. Some are critical of such companies, citing cost and over-diagnosing. The American College of Radiology last year said there was not enough evidence to recommend total body screening for patients with no clinical symptoms, adding that “there is no documented evidence that total body screening is cost-efficient or effective in prolonging life.”
“In fact, no major medical organization recommends full body scans in healthy individuals,” Dr. Lisa Doggett, a family and lifestyle medicine physician at UT Health Austin’s Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Ceter, wrote in a guest post for NPR earlier this month.
Ezra charges between $1,350 to $2,500 for each scan.
The company will open locations in Bellevue and Issaquah, partnering with national imaging company RAYUS Radiology. It says it has more than 300 people on a wait list.
The company’s lead investor is Amir Dan Rubin, former CEO of One Medical, the primary care company acquired by Amazon for $3.9 billion last year. Ezra has raised $41 million to date, including a $21 million round in February, and employs 28 people. Other backers include Healthier Capital, FirstMark Capital, and Allianz Life Ventures.
