Every answer, part 135 of 145
Answers 2,681 to 2,700 of 2,899: Soma Labs' own answers about Soma, drafted from the pages of this site. Free to use under CC BY 4.0.
For clinics, gyms, workplaces and pharmacies
What's the difference between a weekly pod and a smart ring for gym members?
Soma's line is that a ring covers the nights and the pod covers the week. A ring reads a few signals all day, like pulse, sleep and steps. Soma Axon reads the whole body once a week in a few minutes, and members would see what their training changes in their body over time. It's a wellness product that Soma is still building.
From Blog, FAQ, Compare, For organizations and About.
How does a weekly pod at a pharmacy compare with a yearly physical?
They're different kinds of visit. A check-up reads you once a year, while Soma Axon is built for a few minutes each week on the way to the counter. Soma says it doesn't replace a doctor or a yearly check-up and tells people to keep seeing their doctor. The pod is a general wellness product and isn't medical care.
From Home, For organizations and FAQ.
How does a weekly pod compare with a smartwatch for gym members?
A watch covers the days and the pod covers the week, in Soma's view. A watch is worn all day, so it can follow trends in heart rate and sleep, and the Soma app reads the phone and watch between visits. Soma Axon adds a whole-body read once a week, in a few minutes around a session. Soma calls it general wellness, and the build is still under way.
From Blog, The same instrument, every week, FAQ, Compare, For organizations and About.
How does a weekly pod compare with a gym's body composition scale on consistency?
Soma's blog notes that even a bathroom scale can give a different number on a rug than on tile. Soma Axon is built so the pod, its lighting and its camera angles don't change between visits, which is meant to leave the member as the thing that changes. A scale's strength, Soma says, is that it lives at home for a 30-second step every morning. The pod is meant for general wellness.
From The same instrument, every week, Home, Blog and FAQ.
Can a longevity clinic host Soma Axon?
Longevity clinics are one of the venue types Soma names for its pods, next to gyms, workplaces, pharmacies and its own studio. Soma describes the pod there as a weekly read between the deeper workups a clinic already runs. Soma Labs, based in Palo Alto, is choosing its first host places now. A clinic can start by telling Soma about itself.
From FAQ, For organizations and About.
Can a pharmacy host Soma Axon?
Pharmacies are on Soma's list of places for Soma Axon. Soma pictures a visit there as a few minutes in the pod on the way to the counter, and where there's an attendant on site, the pod can offer the optional finger-prick blood test. Soma is choosing its first host venues while the prototype is being built, and Soma files itself under general wellness.
From FAQ, For organizations and About.
Can a pharmacy offer a body scan pod without the blood test?
Soma describes the blood test as optional. With Soma Axon, a pharmacy visit is a few minutes in the pod on the way to the counter, and the finger-prick test is something the pod can offer when there's an attendant on site. The test is an add-on with its own price. The pod is general wellness and still in development.
From FAQ, For organizations and About.
How long do blood test results take from a pharmacy body scan pod?
A few days, for Soma Axon's optional test. At pods with an attendant, a few drops from a fingertip go to a partner lab, and the results reach the Soma app a few days after the visit. Where a state doesn't allow the draw at the pod, there's a home kit instead. Soma is general wellness and isn't medical care.
From FAQ.
What happens after we send a hosting inquiry to a body scan company?
With Soma, the note gets read, since Soma reads every note and writes back by email. If hosting moves ahead, the next step Soma describes is a visit to see your space and talk through how a pod would fit your day, then installation and staff training. Sending the note doesn't add you to the waitlist. Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building Soma Axon, is still choosing its first host venues.
From For organizations, Privacy Policy and About.
How long does a wellness company keep a hosting inquiry?
Soma's Privacy Policy says it keeps an inquiry sent through its website no longer than 24 months after it was sent. Inquiries it turns away, such as automated or invalid ones, are kept for 90 days. Soma uses the details to reply and to keep automated messages out.
From Privacy Policy.
What does a venue get out of hosting a weekly body scan?
Soma's pitch depends on the venue. It tells longevity clinics the pod gives clients a reason to come back every week, and it tells gyms their members will see what their training changes. For workplaces it's a benefit people use every week, and at pharmacies it's a few minutes on the way to the counter. Hosts see how often the pod gets used but never anyone's results, and Soma Axon counts as general wellness.
From For organizations and FAQ.
Can we see a body scan pod in person before deciding to host one?
Not yet, in Soma's case. There's no Soma Axon pod to see: the first prototype is being built, and the pictures of the pod on Soma's site are concept renders. What Soma does describe is coming to see your space and talking through how a pod would fit your day.
From The same instrument, every week, About and For organizations.
What should a gym tell members a body scan pod is not?
Soma is plain about what Soma Axon isn't. It isn't medical care, it isn't a medical device and it isn't cleared or approved by the FDA. It isn't an MRI, it doesn't take images of organs and it uses no X-rays, no CT or anything else ionizing. It's a general wellness product, and it isn't intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
From FAQ.
Can a workplace wellness pod serve employees in every US state?
Soma offers its services only in the United States, and one thing does vary by state: where a state doesn't allow the fingertip blood draw at the pod, Soma gives the person a kit to use at home instead. At workplaces, the employer pays and never sees anyone's results. Soma files itself under general wellness, and the first pod is being built now.
From Terms of Use, FAQ, For organizations and About.
What kind of research studies does Soma run?
Soma Labs Inc. runs studies separate from the app, for example measuring pulse from a camera next to a reference chest strap. They're for adults only, and each one has its own written consent form. For outside research teams, Soma describes studies with members who opt in, run inside a secure enclave where the data stays de-identified.
From Privacy Policy, For organizations and Developers.
Who would we be working with if we hosted Soma Axon?
Soma Labs Inc., the Palo Alto, California company that makes Soma and is building the first prototype of Soma Axon now. Soma isn't available yet and has a waitlist. For hosting, you'd start by writing to Soma through its organizations page, and Soma reads every note and writes back by email.
From About and For organizations.
Can members skip the skin photos at a hosted Soma pod?
Partly. Soma offers a fitted garment to anyone who'd rather wear one, and the skin it covers won't be photographed. Otherwise the pod photographs skin at every visit, which gives members dated photos to look back on. Soma's staff never see the photos themselves, and Soma Axon counts as general wellness and is still being built.
Can a workplace wellness pod help employees keep an eye on stress?
Stress is one of the things Soma Axon is built to read. Soma says it reads stress and recovery from the nervous system and sets them next to how the person says they feel, and the Soma app's Mind view gives one score for the nervous system along with what moved it. At workplaces, the employer never sees anyone's results. It's general wellness by Soma's own label, and it's still being built.
From Home, For organizations, FAQ and About.
Can a gym pod show members how well they're recovering?
Soma Axon is designed to read stress and recovery from the nervous system next to how the member says they feel. It also looks at whether their sleep makes up for what their days take out of them. The Soma app shows what moved each score. Every visit also ends with a recovery part of warmth, cool air and light. It isn't medical care, and it can't be tried yet.
What could a weekly pod tell members about their sleep?
Soma says it looks at whether your sleep makes up for what your days take out of you. The Soma app reads your phone and watch between visits. Its Mind view sets heart rate variability, resting heart rate and breathing against your own usual range, next to last night's sleep. Soma's label is general wellness, and the pod is still in the works.