Gatan Barrette warns against U.S. ultrasound company advertising in Quebec

Quebec Health Minister Gatan Barrette is urgingQuebecers to avoid an American health care company that claimstobe able to detect hidden illness by using ultrasounds.

Ultra Life Inc. is advertising in Quebec newspapers La Presse, Le Devoir and La Tribune this week.

The company says it is hoping to persuade Quebec clients to drive south of the border to attendtemporary clinics being set upin Vermont and New York hotels. Ultra Life is anAmerican company that holds such clinics across the U.S.

There's no medicine. You are not being investigated,- Quebec Health MinisterGatanBarrette

It sells "body scans" ultrasound testsranging in price from $60to $500, intended to catch early signs of illness including cancer, stroke and heart disease.

"This is the same equipment they use in the hospitals. This is the first best test to look at those areas because there's no radiation, there's no dye injection," George Graham, acompany official, told CBC.

Graham said the ultrasounds are conducted by technologists, then test results are analyzedby medical doctors and sent to clients.

Ultra Life ad 'misleading': Barrette

He said Ultra Life has been advertising to Canadians for a decade, but this is the first time they've targeted Quebecers throughFrench-languagenewspapers.

However, Barrette warnsQuebecers to think twice before making the drive south.

He said the company is preyingon people's fears about the state of their health.

"This is, to me, totally unacceptable. It's clearly, clearly, a commercial bias. There's no medicine. You are not being investigated," said Barrette in an interview with CBC.

"It is misleading. It is to make money, period. I do not recommend that to anybody."

Health Canada recommends people only seek diagnostic tests following a clinical evaluation and a referral from a doctor.