MRI Screening in Shenzhen from Hong Kong: 1.5T or 3.0T

Which package fits a trip from Hong Kong?

What the regions are: the 4-region tier covers the brain, intracranial MRA (cerebral vessels), upper abdomen and pelvis; the 7-region tier adds the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. The top tier adds two regions of your choice (and, on 3.0T, cardiac great-vessel MRI). Full lists are on each package page.

• Short on time, or a first broad screen? The 1.5T package is the easier day trip.
• Want DWI, cardiac great-vessel MRI or a scan in a hospital? Choose 3.0T and plan a full day.
• Already booked a checkup in Shenzhen? Tell us; we plan the order and whether the MRI fits the same day or needs a second visit.

Prices are in US dollars. On the 3.0T package, an extra region is $150; one to three regions without a package are $200 each.

How the day works

1. Before you cross. We confirm the package, regions, price and date in writing before you pay. We go through the MRI safety questions with you (below) and send your preparation notes and a same-day plan: which crossing, transport and timing.
2. Cross the border. Your companion meets you in Shenzhen and stays with you through registration, the scan and the radiologist hand-off.
3. The scan. About two hours on the table for 7 regions at the 1.5T clinic; a full day at the 3.0T hospital.
4. Back in Hong Kong. Your DICOM images come on USB or by secure link. The English-translated report follows: on the 1.5T package, typically in 2–3 weeks (about 1 week at the fastest); on the 3.0T package, in 1–3 weeks.

Before you book: three honest notes

• Is it appropriate for you? If you have no symptoms and nobody has advised you to have this scan, ask your own doctor first. The Royal College of Radiologists (UK) and RANZCR (Australia and New Zealand) do not recommend whole-body MRI screening for people without symptoms, and there is no evidence that screening healthy people this way helps them live longer. See our full guide for the published numbers.
• It can find things. In published studies of people without symptoms, roughly one person in three had a finding that needed explaining. Follow-up, such as repeat imaging or a biopsy, is not included. We can arrange it in Shenzhen and quote it before you commit, or you can take your report and images to your own doctor in Hong Kong.
• It is not one continuous head-to-toe scan. The team scans one region at a time and changes the coil in between. You receive the radiologist's report translated into English, not a natively written structured report.

MRI safety

Tell us before you pay if you have a pacemaker, defibrillator or heart valve; a cochlear or middle-ear implant; vascular clips, coils, filters or stents; metal fragments in your body or eyes, or an eye implant; orthopaedic metal; dental implants, bridges or magnetic denture attachments; any other implant or device; if you are or may be pregnant, or have an IUD; or if you are claustrophobic. The imaging team at the hospital or clinic makes the final decision on whether the scan is suitable for you, sometimes only on the day.

Preparation. On both packages, the upper-abdomen scan needs time without food. At the 3.0T hospital it is 5–6 hours (water is fine), and the pelvis scan needs a moderately full bladder and an empty bowel. For the 1.5T clinic, your coordinator confirms the exact number of hours and any other preparation before your appointment. Leave metal at home or in a locker: phone, keys, cards, watch, coins, hair clips, belts, underwire bras and any wearable heart monitor.

Crossing into Shenzhen

If you hold a Home Return Permit (Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents), you can use it to cross.

If you are crossing on a foreign passport: citizens of some countries can visit China visa-free for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, exchanges or transit. Medical treatment is not among the listed purposes, so check the right entry route for your passport with the Chinese embassy or consulate before you book.

240-hour visa-free transit applies only when you travel on to a third country or region with a confirmed onward ticket and enter through a designated port. The land crossings from Hong Kong into Shenzhen, such as Shenzhen Bay, Luohu and Futian, are not entry ports for 240-hour visa-free transit, so don't plan a land crossing from Hong Kong around 240-hour transit. Check the right entry route with the Chinese embassy or consulate before you book.

See our China visa guide and 240-hour transit guide. We don't arrange visas or permits.

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