Every answer, part 17 of 145
Answers 321 to 340 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
What can an app developer build with whole-body wellness data?
Soma is designing an API for that, so the apps people already use can read their Soma results with permission. It covers what the pod reads at each visit. Every reading comes with how sure Soma is of it, so an app can show the range next to the number. Anything not measured comes back marked that way instead of as a zero or a guess. It isn't open yet, and developers can join early access. It's all general wellness.
From Developers and FAQ.
How should an app handle a body reading that wasn't taken?
Soma's answer is to say so plainly. In its draft API, a reading that wasn't measured comes back as a null value with the reason not_measured, and an app never gets a zero or a guess in its place. The pod follows the same rule: if a sensor couldn't get a clean reading, the spot stays empty. The API isn't open yet, the names in the draft will change and the data is general wellness data.
From Developers, Home and FAQ.
Can I see whether short nights are adding up over a month?
That's one of Soma's own examples. With a baseline built from your own readings after a handful of Soma Axon visits, a resting pulse creeping up over a month of short nights should show up as a trend you can see. Each visit also notes how you slept. For sleep, Soma looks at whether it makes up for what your days take out of you. It's a general wellness product, and the pod is still being built.
From The same instrument, every week, Home, FAQ and About.
How can I see how what I eat affects how I feel?
Soma's approach to the gut is to look at what you eat, how you feel and how your body responds, side by side. At Soma Axon visits, someone asks when you last ate and notes it next to the numbers, since a Soma score only sums up what was measured and what you told Soma. Soma keeps these readings to general wellness, and neither the pod nor the app is ready yet.
From Home, The same instrument, every week and FAQ.
Is there a way to see how the way I move changes over time?
For activity, Soma reads strength, balance and how you move. It calls them the first things to change with age. Soma Axon is being designed to read balance on its floor plate and grip strength through a pair of grips at every weekly visit, the same way each time, so shifts show up across visits. It's for general wellness, and the pod is still a prototype.
Is there a body scan I can do without taking everything off?
Soma Axon will offer a middle ground. People wear their underwear in the pod, and if you'd rather, Soma will give you a fitted garment, though the skin it covers won't be photographed. You change in a private room first, and staff never see the skin photos, only an outline of your body. It's a general wellness pod, and the first prototype is still being built.
What do smart rings and watches actually read?
Mostly a few signals, all day. Soma's FAQ lists pulse, sleep and steps. Its blog notes that because a watch is on you all day, it can follow trends in heart rate and sleep between check-ups. A watch's optical sensor reads pulse through the skin and gets less reliable when the wrist moves or the strap is loose. Soma Axon is a weekly whole-body pod meant to work alongside them. It's for general wellness still being built.
From FAQ, The same instrument, every week and About.
Which body scans can I do at a gym?
3D body scanners are one kind found in gyms. They read your body's shape and measurements, estimated fat and lean mass and posture in under a minute, with the price set by each gym. Soma plans another option: Soma Axon pods are planned for gyms among other places, so members could see what their training changes in their body week after week. It's a general wellness pod, and none is open yet.
From Full-body scans compared, FAQ, For organizations and About.
Which body scans take pictures of organs, and which don't?
Of the common full-body options, a whole-body MRI is the one that images your organs and tissue. A DEXA scan measures what you're made of, down to bone density, a 3D scanner measures your shape and a smart scale estimates body composition with a small electrical current. Soma Axon isn't an MRI and doesn't take images of your organs. It's a general wellness pod still being built.
From Full-body scans compared, FAQ and About.
How many visits a year could a weekly wellness service bring in?
At Soma's pace, a member who comes to Soma Axon every week makes 52 visits a year. Because one account works at every pod, a member's record follows them to your venue from anywhere else they've used one. The host sees those visits as usage and never sees anyone's results. It's a general wellness service, and the first prototype is being built.
From For organizations and FAQ.
Is there a wellness API that returns a margin with each reading?
Soma is designing one. In its draft, each reading comes with how sure Soma is of it. The example on the developers page shows margin as the plus or minus around each value, so an app can show the range next to the number. The example values are made up, and since it's a draft, names will change. The API isn't open yet, but developers can join early access. Soma is a general wellness product.
From Developers and FAQ.
What's a good way to see whether a new routine is working?
Give it weeks, and measure the same way throughout. Soma notes that sleep, stress, food and training add up over weeks. A single reading says little by itself. Soma Axon is being built to read you once a week under the same conditions, and its scores only sum up what was measured and what you told Soma, like whether you trained. It sits in general wellness and isn't available yet.
From FAQ, Know thyself, About and Home.
How can I see changes in my body without weighing myself every day?
A weekly read is one alternative to a daily weigh-in. A smart scale's strength is that you can step on it every morning, but Soma Axon is built as a whole-body scan you step into once a week, reading body composition along with balance, strength, heart and breathing and skin photos. Weekly readings taken the same way show what's changing and how fast. It's a wellness product, and the first pod hasn't opened.
Can I get my breathing read without wearing anything?
Soma Axon is designed for that. Its cameras read your pulse and breathing without touching you, so there's no cuff and no wires. Nothing is strapped to you in the pod. In the Soma app, Mind also reads breathing against your own usual range, from what your phone and watch record. It's general wellness information, and the pod is still being built.
How can I see what a hard training week does to my readings?
Context helps. Before each Soma Axon reading, someone asks whether you trained, so a hard session gets noted next to the numbers. A Soma score only sums up what was measured and what you told Soma. Tapping a score shows what moved it, with each measure set against your own usual range. It's a wellness product, and the pod isn't open yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Home, FAQ and About.
Do any body scans read balance?
Soma Axon is being designed to. Its floor plate reads balance along with body composition while you stand with your hands on the grips. Among the other kinds Soma compares, a 3D body scanner reads posture along with your shape and measurements. The pod is general wellness hardware, and Soma Labs is still building the first one.
From Home, Full-body scans compared, FAQ and About.
Where can I get a weekly body scan near me?
Soma Axon isn't open anywhere yet, so for now the answer depends on other kinds of scan. Soma plans pods in its own studio and in longevity clinics, gyms, workplaces and pharmacies. People on the waitlist will be the first to hear where the first pod opens. Some gyms already have 3D body scanners, a different kind of scan that reads shape and posture. Soma is a wellness product.
From FAQ and Full-body scans compared.
How is lean mass measured?
A few ways. A DEXA scan reads lean mass along with body fat, visceral fat and bone density. A 3D body scanner estimates fat and lean mass, while a smart scale estimates body composition with a very small electrical current. Soma Axon will read body composition the smart-scale way, on its floor plate with your hands on the grips, once a week. It's a wellness product that isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, Blog, FAQ and About.
What does a wellness API response look like?
Soma's draft gives one example. A request to GET /v1/visits/latest, authorized with a member token, returns readings from the latest visit, each with a value and a margin, which is the plus or minus around it. A reading that wasn't measured comes back null with the reason not_measured. The values are made up for the page, and the names will change, since it's a draft. The API isn't open yet. The whole product is general wellness.
From Developers and FAQ.
How can I get early access to a body data API?
Soma's API for Soma Axon results isn't open yet, and its developers page invites people to join early access and help shape it. You tell Soma what you'd build or what you'd like to study, and it reads every note and writes back by email. The API is meant to let the apps people already use read their Soma results, with their permission. Soma isn't a medical device, and the pod is still being built.
From Developers, FAQ and About.