CoreViva has opened a full-body MRI clinic in Newport Beach.
Chief Executive Dr. A. Alexander and his co-founders say there’s large demand for faster and more accurate MRIs with less false positives.
“Our goal is to catch cancer earlier,” Alexander told the Business Journal.
CoreViva’s MRIs aren’t limited to just detecting cancer.
They’re capable of finding more than 500 elusive diseases, including joint disease and reproductive issues, according to the company.
The company charges an all-inclusive fee for the elective MRI of $2,699, which includes personalized reports and consultations with a CoreViva radiologist, according to its website. Insurance does not cover CoreViva scans; however, patients can use their HSA or FSA accounts.
Highest Rate of Early-Stage Cancer in OC
CoreViva chose Orange County for its first clinic due to it having the highest rate of early-stage cancer, according to Alexander.
Similarly, a study by City of Hope Orange County found that the region has the highest overall rate of cancer in people under 50 years old within Southern California. For every 100,000 residents, there were 98.3 cases.
Over 85% of cancers are not detected by regular checks because many types of cancer’s don’t have recommended screenings, he said.
“Pancreatic cancer, renal cancer and a lot of deadly diseases like fatty liver disease and brain aneurysms—these are all things that we found in patients with no symptoms that could have died,” Alexander said.
He said that the goal is to eventually open multiple clinics throughout the country.
CoreViva is currently physician-backed without any institutional investors, an intentional decision to keep the focus on patients, according to Alexander.
What differentiates CoreViva from other existing full-body MRIs is that it not only looks at all organs, but also brain health and musculoskeletal health, Alexander said.
This includes visceral fat, or fat surrounding the organs, which a high amount of can make someone at risk for heart disease and strokes.
“That’s actually more deadly than external fat,” Alexander said.
Each scan takes 30 minutes with results delivered within two days through a secure patient portal.
Former Team Physician for the Lakers, Dodgers
Alexander was the team physician for the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers prior to starting CoreViva.
He’s a board-certified radiologist and received training at George Washington University, Cleveland Clinic and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Prior to being a team physician, Alexander was the former global head of medical imaging at McKinsey & Co.
His co-founder, Dr. Brian Tsui, currently serves as chief medical officer of CoreViva. He was part of the health faculty at the University of California, San Francisco and a resident physician at UCLA.
Together, they developed the “fastest, most accurate and most comprehensive whole-body MRI that exists,” Alexander said.
