Every answer, part 11 of 145
Answers 201 to 220 of 2,899: Soma Labs' own answers about Soma, drafted from the pages of this site. Free to use under CC BY 4.0.
Soma Axon, the pod
Is Soma Axon's design final?
Not yet. Soma's blog describes Axon as the team is designing it today, and the comparison pages carry the same caveat, since the pod isn't available. The first prototype is being built now. Soma Labs says it will use its blog to write about building Soma Axon as it happens, including the research behind it and the calls it makes along the way. The waitlist is how to hear when the first pod opens.
From Blog, Compare, About, Know thyself and FAQ.
Does Soma Axon need to be charged?
No. In Soma's side-by-side table with two smart rings, the Soma Axon column says there's nothing to charge, because it's a pod you visit instead of something you wear. You step in once a week for a few minutes, and between visits the Soma app reads your phone and watch. Like the rest of Soma, it's a general wellness product. There's no pod to visit yet, as Soma Labs is still building the first prototype, but there's a waitlist.
How does a weekly pod compare with wearing a tracker all the time?
They read on different schedules. Soma's comparison page puts it this way: rings and watches read a few signals all day, while clinic scans read much more, less often. Soma Axon is being built to read the whole body every week, in a few minutes, for general wellness. A tracker still earns its place alongside it, since the Soma app reads your phone and watch in the days between visits. Axon isn't open yet, and there's a waitlist.
What are the steps of a Soma Axon visit?
Soma's home page walks through it. You arrive and someone from Soma asks how you slept, when you last ate and whether you trained. You change in a private room, then stand still with your hands on the grips and feet on the plate while cameras, light and contact sensors read you, turning a quarter at a time. Warmth, cool air and mist, light, sound and a slow breath follow. You leave with one calm number, and the rest waits in the Soma app. It's all general wellness, and the pod isn't open yet.
What should I know before sharing health data with a wellness app?
It helps to know what the app reads, what it does with the data and how to delete it. The Soma app reads Apple Health only with your permission and only the data types you allow, and it never writes anything back. Soma says it doesn't sell data or use it for ads, and there are no ads in Soma. You can ask for deletion at any time, and emailing privacy@somalabs.me clears live systems within 30 days and backups within 90. Soma isn't a medical device.
From Privacy Policy, Compare, Home and FAQ.
What does "full-body scan" actually mean?
It depends on who's offering it. Soma's guide notes that it can mean an hour in an MRI machine, a few minutes under a DEXA arm or 30 seconds on a smart scale. A clinic scan can put several instruments and a clinician in one visit. They read different things, so it's worth asking what a scan measures before you book. Soma Axon is a weekly pod still being built, reading skin, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength for general wellness.
From Full-body scans compared and FAQ.
What does it take to host a body scan pod at a wellness business?
At Soma, hosting starts with a note about your place: where it sits, how many people come through and what you'd want from a pod. Soma then visits the space and talks through how a pod would fit your day. It installs Soma Axon and trains your staff to run it and help a member through a visit. Members change in a private room, spend a few minutes in the pod and leave with one calm number. It's a general wellness service, and the first prototype is being built.
From For organizations and FAQ.
Why did Soma Labs build Soma Axon?
Soma Labs, a company in Palo Alto, California, started from a simple observation: a check-up reads you once a year and a watch reads part of you all day, while most of what shapes a body happens in between. Seeing that takes the same measurement, taken the same way, every week. Most health numbers don't work like that, because the room, the time of day and the instrument change between readings. Soma Axon is its answer, a general wellness pod still being built.
What does Soma mean by "the same instrument every week"?
It means Soma Axon doesn't change between your visits. The pod, its lighting and its camera angles stay the same, and you stand in the same spot with your hands on the same two grips. That way, Soma says, when a number moves you can trust it, because the change came from you and the room or the equipment can be ruled out. The pod is a general wellness product, and work on the first prototype is still under way.
From Home, The same instrument, every week, FAQ and About.
What should I know about Soma Axon's safety?
The pod uses no X-rays, no CT and nothing else ionizing. It reads body composition with a very small electrical current, and its recovery part uses heat and cold. The first version of Soma Axon isn't for anyone pregnant or under 18, or for people with a pacemaker, an implanted defibrillator or another implanted electronic device. If you're unsure, Soma says to ask your doctor before your first visit. Soma Axon isn't a medical device, and it isn't available yet.
Can a weekly pod and a yearly check-up work together?
That's how Soma sees it. A check-up reads you once a year, and Soma Axon is being built to add a weekly reading in the months between. Soma pictures a check-up when you and your clinician decide and a weekly read in between. It also tells people to keep seeing their doctor and keep their check-ups. Axon is a general wellness product, and the first prototype is still being built.
Why don't my body fat readings match between devices?
The number depends on more than you. Soma's blog notes that most health numbers depend on the hour, the room and the device as well as on the person. That makes two readings hard to compare, and even one bathroom scale can read differently on a rug than on tile. Soma Axon is designed so the pod, its lighting and its camera angles never change between visits, so a moving number reflects you. It's general wellness, and the pod is still being built.
From The same instrument, every week, Home, FAQ and About.
Can I get a body scan without anything touching me?
Partly. Soma Axon's cameras read your pulse and breathing without touching you, and nothing is strapped to you. It does use sensors you touch: you stand on a floor plate with your hands on a pair of grips, which read body composition, balance and grip strength. There's no cuff. The pod is a general wellness product, and it isn't open yet.
Is there a body check between a wearable and a clinic scan?
That's the gap Soma Axon is being built to fill. Soma's comparison page notes that rings and watches read a few signals all day, while clinic scans read much more, less often. Axon aims for the whole body every week, in a few minutes, with the Soma app reading your phone and watch in between. It's for general wellness. The first prototype is still under construction, and there's a waitlist.
Who's building a pod that reads your whole body every week?
Soma Labs Inc., in Palo Alto, California, is building one called Soma Axon. It's designed to read your whole body every week in a few minutes: skin, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength, the same way at every visit. The company is building the first prototype now, and Soma isn't available yet, though there's a waitlist. It's a wellness product.
Can I join a waitlist for a weekly body scan?
Yes, for Soma Axon. Soma Labs keeps a waitlist on its site that takes an email address and tells you when the first pod opens and when the app is ready. People on it are among the first to hear, including where the first pod opens and what prices will be. Soma's products are for general wellness, and the first prototype is still in the works.
What does the Soma Axon diagram on the home page show?
It's a labeled drawing of Soma Axon. It marks the overall size at 1.3 m wide and 2.3 m tall, shows cameras that read pulse, breathing and your skin without touching you, calls out a closed cabin with the same light and camera angles every week and puts a floor plate under your feet for body composition and balance. Light, warmth and cool air are labeled as the recovery part of every visit. It's general wellness, and the pod is still a prototype.
What are Soma's six promises about its numbers?
Soma lists six promises behind every number it shows, in the pod and in the app. Your data stays yours and isn't sold or used for ads. Every number comes with its margin of error and says whether its science is well established or still being tested. Blanks stay blank instead of showing a zero or a guess. The pod measures the same way every time. Every score shows what moved it. And Soma is a general wellness product that isn't intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
What won't Soma Axon do?
It won't image your organs, since it isn't an MRI. It uses no X-rays, no CT and nothing else ionizing. It won't say whether a mole is harmful. Soma doesn't see it replacing a thorough check-up, and as a general wellness product it isn't intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The first version also isn't for anyone pregnant, under 18 or with an implanted electronic device such as a pacemaker.
Will Soma Axon tell me if a mole is harmful?
No. Soma won't tell you whether a mole is harmful. What the pod does is photograph your skin at every visit, as you turn a quarter at a time, which gives you dated photos to look back on and to show a clinician if you choose. Staff never see those photos, only an outline of your body. Soma Axon is a general wellness product and isn't a medical device, and Soma Labs is still working on the first prototype.