Every answer, part 140 of 145
Answers 2,781 to 2,800 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 developers and researchers
Does the Soma API cover every visit or only the latest one?
The API covers what Soma Axon reads at each visit, and the draft example on Soma's developers page shows one request, GET /v1/visits/latest, for a member's most recent visit. A member who comes weekly makes 52 visits a year. The API is a draft whose names will change, and it isn't open yet. Soma is built for general wellness and isn't a medical device.
From Developers, For organizations and FAQ.
Which apps could connect to the Soma API?
The ones people already use, in Soma's description: the API is being designed so those apps can read their Soma results with their permission. A member chooses what each app can read and can take that access back at any time. Developers who want in can join early access and help shape it, since it isn't open yet. Soma calls itself a general wellness product.
From Developers and FAQ.
Is Soma Axon collecting any data for the API yet?
No. Soma Axon isn't available yet and collects nothing today, and Soma says that before it collects anything, it'll give a separate notice and ask for explicit consent. The planned API covers what the pod reads at each visit. It isn't open yet. Soma is a general wellness product, made by Soma Labs Inc. in Palo Alto.
From Privacy Policy, Developers, FAQ and About.
How is the Soma API different from reading Apple Health directly?
They cover different things. The Soma app reads Apple Health with a person's permission, read-only, and never writes anything back to it. The Soma API is a separate piece: it's being designed so other apps can read what the Soma Axon pod records at each visit, with the member choosing what each app can read. Soma keeps to general wellness and isn't cleared or approved by the FDA. The API isn't open yet, and the pod is still a prototype.
From Developers, Privacy Policy, Compare, FAQ and About.
How does Soma Axon's weekly data compare with a smartwatch's all-day data for a study?
They're built for different time scales. A watch reads a few signals all day, like pulse, sleep and steps. Soma's blog credits watches with following trends in heart rate and sleep between check-ups. Soma Axon is designed for one whole-body read a week, in a pod whose lighting and camera angles don't change between visits, which comes to 52 visits a year for a weekly member. The Soma app reads the phone and watch in between. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet, so it collects nothing.
From FAQ, The same instrument, every week, For organizations, Home and Privacy Policy.
How does Soma Axon's weekly read compare with a yearly check-up as a research data source?
Soma positions them side by side. A member who visits Soma Axon every week makes 52 visits a year, and Soma says readings taken the same way every week show what's changing and how fast. Soma adds a weekly reading in the months between check-ups and tells people to keep seeing their doctor and keep those check-ups. These are general wellness readings, and Soma isn't medical care. The pod isn't available yet and collects nothing today.
From For organizations, FAQ and Privacy Policy.
How do Soma Axon's body composition readings compare with DEXA for a study?
According to Soma's guide to full-body scans, DEXA reads body fat, visceral fat, lean mass and bone density with a very low dose of X-rays, and providers suggest a scan every 3 to 6 months. Soma Axon reads body composition with a very small electrical current and uses no X-rays or anything else ionizing. It's built for a weekly visit. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet, so it collects nothing today.
From Full-body scans compared, Blog, FAQ and Privacy Policy.
Soma Axon or a smart scale: which suits a fitness app's body composition feature?
They offer different kinds of data. A smart scale lives at home, where someone can step on it every morning in 30 seconds. Soma Axon reads body composition the same basic way, with a very small electrical current, but once a week. It reads you under the same light, from the same positions and with the same instrument, and it adds balance and grip strength among other readings. An app would read Soma results through the planned API, with permission. Soma is a general wellness product, and the API isn't open yet.
From Blog, Compare, Developers and FAQ.
How does Soma Axon's output compare with a 3D body scanner's for a gym app?
A 3D body scanner in a gym reads body shape and measurements, estimated fat and lean mass and posture in under a minute, and one maker suggests a scan every 30 to 90 days. Soma Axon reads body composition, balance and grip strength along with heart and breathing at a weekly visit of a few minutes. Its planned API covers what the pod reads at each visit, and a gym's app would read those results only with the member's permission. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Labs (somalabs.me) hasn't opened the API yet.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare, Developers and FAQ.
How do clinic scans compare with Soma Axon for research on change over time?
Soma's own framing is that clinic scans read much more, less often, while rings and watches read a few signals all day. Soma Axon is being built to read the whole body every week, in a few minutes, so a weekly member would make 52 visits a year. Soma doesn't see its pod replacing a thorough check-up. It's a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet, so there's no data today.
From Compare, For organizations, Blog, FAQ and Privacy Policy.
How does the Soma API's permission compare with the Soma app's Apple Health access?
Both put the person in charge. The Soma app reads Apple Health only with permission, read-only, and only for the data types the person allows. Apple Health access and history sync are separate, revocable choices. Through the planned API, a member chooses what each app can read and can take that access back at any time. The API isn't open yet, and Soma calls itself a general wellness product.
From Developers, Privacy Policy and FAQ.
Soma Axon or a smartwatch: what would each give a sleep app?
For a sleep app, the two offer different things. A smartwatch reads a few signals all day, and Soma's blog says watches can follow trends in heart rate and sleep between check-ups. For sleep, Soma looks at whether sleep makes up for what the days take out of a person. Its planned API covers what Soma Axon reads at each weekly visit, which an app could read with the member's permission. Soma is a general wellness product. The API isn't open yet, and the pod is still a prototype.
From FAQ, The same instrument, every week, Home, Developers and About.
How does whole-body MRI data compare with Soma Axon data for research?
They're different kinds of data. A whole-body MRI takes images of organs and tissue with a magnetic field and radio waves. A scan runs 22 to 60 minutes, and providers suggest one a year. Soma Axon isn't an MRI and doesn't take images of organs. Its planned API covers what the pod reads at each weekly visit, such as body composition, balance, grip strength, heart and breathing. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet, so it collects nothing.
From Full-body scans compared, FAQ, Developers, Compare and Privacy Policy.
Smart ring data or Soma Axon data: what would each give a recovery app?
Soma frames a ring as covering the nights and its pod as covering the week. A ring reads a few signals all day, like pulse, sleep and steps. Soma Axon reads body composition, balance and grip strength along with heart and breathing once a week, and its planned API covers what the pod reads at each visit. A recovery app would read those results with the member's permission. Soma Labs in Palo Alto hasn't opened the API yet. Soma describes itself as a general wellness product.
From FAQ, Blog, Developers, Compare and About.
The ideas behind Soma
Why does my weight drop overnight?
Mostly water, plus whatever you ate and drank that evening. Soma Labs notes on its blog that if you weigh yourself after dinner and again the next morning before breakfast, the morning number is usually lower, sometimes by a kilo (about two pounds) or more. It's part of why Soma Axon, still being built, is meant to read you the same way at every visit. It's a general wellness product.
From The same instrument, every week, FAQ and About.
Why do my readings disagree from one device to the next?
Most health numbers depend on the hour, the room and the device as well as on you, which makes two readings hard to compare. Soma Labs says that's why it can be hard to tell a real change from noise. Its answer is Soma Axon, a closed pod meant to take the same measurement the same way every week, so that when a number moves, the change came from you. The pod is a general wellness product that's still being built.
From The same instrument, every week, About and FAQ.
What does Soma's blog say about the white-coat effect?
Soma Labs brings it up in "The same instrument, every week" as an example of the setting changing a number. Some readings tend to come out higher in a doctor's office than at home, often enough that there's a name for it: the white-coat effect. The post's point is that the hour, the room and the device matter as well as you, which is why Soma Axon is being built to read you the same way each week. It's a general wellness product.
From The same instrument, every week, FAQ and About.
Why does my watch's pulse reading get less reliable when I move?
A watch's optical sensor reads your pulse through the skin, and Soma Labs' blog notes that it gets less reliable when your wrist moves or the strap is loose. Soma Axon, the pod Soma is building, takes a different route: you stand still in the same spot with your hands on the same two grips while cameras and contact sensors read you. It's a general wellness product, and it isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Home and FAQ.
Can a bathroom scale read differently on a rug than on tile?
Yes. Soma Labs' blog notes that even a bathroom scale can give a different number on a rug than on tile. It's a small example of a bigger pattern, since health numbers depend on the room and the device as well as on you. Soma Axon is being designed so those stay put, with the same pod, light and positions at every visit. The pod is a general wellness product that's still being built.
From The same instrument, every week, Home, Compare, FAQ and About.
What are smartwatches good at when it comes to tracking my body?
Watches have one big advantage, according to Soma Labs' blog: they're on you all day, so they can follow trends in your heart rate and sleep between check-ups. Soma sees a watch and its weekly pod as partners. The watch covers the days and the pod covers the week, with the Soma app reading your phone and watch between visits. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Blog and FAQ.