Every answer, part 136 of 145
Answers 2,701 to 2,720 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
Can members without an iPhone use a hosted body scan pod?
Soma's pages tie the full results to an iPhone. Soma Axon shows one calm number on the way out, and everything else is in the Soma app, which needs an iPhone since it reads Apple Health. A watch is optional. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet.
From FAQ.
Can members make the recovery part of a hosted Soma pod gentler?
Yes. Soma says you can make any part of the recovery gentler. That part of a visit uses warmth, cool air and mist, light, sound and a slow breath. Soma says it's there to help you feel good and isn't meant to treat anything. The pod, a general wellness product, is still being built.
Can a gym pod read heart and breathing without a chest strap?
That's how Soma Axon is designed. Cameras read heart and breathing with no cuff and no wires, and pulse, breathing and skin are read without touching the person. Members hold the pod's grips and stand on its plate for the other readings. It's a general wellness product, and Soma is still choosing its first gyms and other venues.
From Home, FAQ and For organizations.
How would members get the Soma app for a hosted pod?
The waitlist is the way in for now: people on it hear when the first pod opens and when the Soma app is ready for them. The app runs on iPhone and reads Apple Health. Soma's Terms of Use also cover beta builds through TestFlight, where Apple's TestFlight terms apply as well. Soma is a general wellness product.
From FAQ and Terms of Use.
For developers and researchers
Is there an API for weekly whole-body wellness data?
Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building Soma Axon, is designing one. The planned Soma API would let the apps people already use read their Soma results with their permission. It covers what the pod reads at each visit. It isn't open yet: developers can join early access and help shape it. The pod itself is still a prototype, since the first one is being built now. Soma is a general wellness product and isn't a medical device.
From Developers, FAQ and About.
How should an API handle a reading that wasn't taken?
Soma's draft API says so outright instead of filling the gap. If Soma didn't measure something, the API reports it. An app will never get a zero or a guess in its place. In the draft example, that reading comes back as a null value with the reason not_measured. The example values are made up, and the names will change, since it's a draft. Soma describes itself as a general wellness product. Its API isn't open yet, and early access is how developers get involved.
From Developers and FAQ.
How can a wellness app show the uncertainty around each value?
One approach comes from Soma's planned API: each reading arrives with how sure Soma is of it, so an app can show the range next to the number. In the draft, margin is the plus or minus around each value. Soma's own app follows the same idea, with every number carrying its margin of error. Soma's Terms call it a general wellness product. The API isn't open yet, and developers can join early access.
From Developers, Home, FAQ and Terms of Use.
Can a research team analyze wellness data without the data leaving its source?
That's how Soma describes its research model. A team sends its analysis into a secure enclave, where it runs next to de-identified data from members who opted in to that study, and the data never leaves the enclave. Studies run only with members who opt in. Soma isn't a medical device, and Soma Axon, the pod that would produce the weekly data, is still a prototype being built by Soma Labs in Palo Alto.
From Developers, FAQ and About.
What is the Soma API?
It's an API that Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building Soma Axon, is designing so the apps people already use can read their Soma results, with their permission. It covers what the pod reads at each visit, and each reading will come with how sure Soma is of it. It isn't open yet. Developers can join early access and help shape it. Soma isn't a medical device and isn't cleared or approved by the FDA.
From Developers, FAQ and About.
Is the Soma API open yet?
No. Soma's API isn't open yet, and what's on the developers page is a draft whose names will change. Developers can join early access and help shape it by telling Soma what they'd build or what they'd like to study. Soma reads every note and writes back by email. The pod the API would draw on, Soma Axon, is still a prototype. All of this sits within general wellness.
From Developers, About and FAQ.
What does GET /v1/visits/latest do in the Soma API?
In Soma's draft, it's the example request an app makes for a member's most recent visit, authorized with that member's token. The API covers what the Soma Axon pod reads at each visit, and the member decides what each app can read. The page's example values are made up, and because the API is a draft, names will change. The API isn't open yet, and Soma calls itself a general wellness product.
From Developers and FAQ.
What does "not_measured" mean in Soma's API?
It's the reason the draft gives when a reading wasn't taken. In Soma's example, that reading comes back with a null value and the reason not_measured. The rule behind it: when Soma didn't measure something, the API says so and never hands an app a zero or a guess. Soma's own app keeps the same rule, leaving unmeasured spots empty. Soma Labs in Palo Alto hasn't opened the API yet. Soma offers it as a general wellness product.
From Developers, Home, FAQ and About.
What is the margin field in the Soma API?
It's the plus or minus around each value. Soma's draft attaches a margin to every reading so an app can show the range next to the number, since each reading comes with how sure Soma is of it. The page notes that its example values are made up and that names will change, because it's a draft. The same idea runs through Soma's own app, where every number comes with its margin of error. Soma describes itself as a general wellness product, and its API is still closed.
From Developers, Home and FAQ.
What are the three rules the Soma API will keep?
First, permission: a member chooses what each app can read and can take that access back at any time. Second, each reading comes with how sure Soma is of it, so an app can show the range next to the number. Third, if Soma didn't measure something, the API says so instead of handing an app a zero or a guess. The API is a draft that isn't open yet. Soma calls itself a general wellness product.
From Developers and FAQ.
How does a member control which apps read their Soma results?
Through permission, which is the first rule Soma says its API will keep. A member chooses what each app can read and can take that access back at any time. The API itself is being designed so the apps people already use can read Soma results only with that permission. It's still a draft and isn't open yet. Soma keeps to general wellness and isn't cleared or approved by the FDA.
From Developers and FAQ.
How do Soma research studies work?
They run only with members who opt in to that study. The members' data stays de-identified inside a secure enclave, and the research team sends its analysis in to run next to it, so the data never leaves. Soma isn't a medical device, and Soma Axon, the pod that would supply the data, is still a prototype. Teams can tell Soma what they'd like to study.
From Developers, FAQ and About.
Does member data ever leave Soma's secure enclave?
No. In Soma's research model, a team sends its analysis into the secure enclave, where it runs next to de-identified data from members who opted in, and the data never leaves the enclave. Soma also commits not to attempt to re-identify de-identified data. Soma is a general wellness product, and its pod isn't available yet.
From Developers, Privacy Policy and FAQ.
How can an app read a person's body scan results with their permission?
Soma's planned API is built around that permission. A member chooses what each app can read and can take that access back at any time. In the draft, an app asks for the latest visit with GET /v1/visits/latest, authorized with a member token. The API covers what the Soma Axon pod reads at each visit. It isn't open yet, though developers can join early access through Soma Labs (somalabs.me). Soma is a general wellness product.
From Developers and FAQ.
How do studies on weekly body data get consent?
In Soma's model, one study at a time. Studies run only with members who opt in to that specific study. Each has its own written consent form and is for adults only. Soma's Privacy Policy doesn't cover the studies, which sit apart from the app and ask for consent before collecting anything. Using the Soma app doesn't enroll anyone, and app data isn't used in a study without separate opt-in consent. Soma is a general wellness product still being built.
From Developers, Privacy Policy, FAQ and About.
Where could a research team find people who get the same body read every week?
Soma's plan pairs research teams with its own members, and only those who opt in. Its research model runs studies with members who opt in to that study, inside a secure enclave. A member who visits Soma Axon every week would make 52 visits a year, in a pod whose lighting and camera angles don't change between visits. The catch today is that the pod isn't available yet and doesn't collect anything. It's general wellness, and Soma isn't a medical device.
From Developers, For organizations, Home, Privacy Policy and FAQ.