Every answer, part 36 of 145
Answers 701 to 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.
What the pod reads
What does a weekly scan read that a bathroom scale can't?
A bathroom scale gives you one number, and Soma's blog notes even that can differ on a rug versus tile. Soma Axon is being built to read body composition on a floor plate, the way a smart scale does, plus skin photos, heart and breathing, ECG, EEG, thermal imaging, balance and grip strength, all in a few minutes each week. It reads you under the same light and with the same instrument each time. It's a general wellness product, still being built.
From The same instrument, every week, Blog, Compare, About and FAQ.
Can I keep one body composition record if I measure in different places?
Switching devices makes that harder, since Soma's blog notes that most health numbers depend on the hour, the room and the device as well as on you. Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building Soma Axon, plans one account for every pod, so a member's record follows them from one venue to another, whether that's a gym, a workplace, a pharmacy, a longevity clinic or Soma's studio. It's a general wellness product, and no pod is open yet.
From The same instrument, every week, About, For organizations, FAQ and Compare.
Why do a smart scale and a DEXA scan give different body fat numbers?
They work differently. Soma's full-body scans guide says a smart scale estimates body composition with a very small electrical current, while a DEXA scan measures what you're made of, down to bone density, using a very low dose of X-rays. Soma's blog adds that most health numbers depend on the device as well as on you, which makes two readings hard to compare. Soma Axon uses the smart scale's basic method with the same instrument every week, and Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building it, calls it a general wellness product. It isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, The same instrument, every week, Blog, Compare, About and FAQ.
What does it mean that Soma Axon reads me without touching me?
It refers to the cameras. Soma says they read your pulse, breathing and skin without touching you, so there's no cuff and no wires for those readings. Other parts of the pod do involve contact: your feet rest on the floor plate and your hands on the grips, which Soma calls sensors you touch. It's a general wellness product, and Soma Labs in Palo Alto hasn't opened a pod yet.
Does what I ate affect a body composition reading?
Soma's pages speak to weight more than body composition here: its blog says a weigh-in after dinner and one before breakfast can differ by a kilo or more, mostly water and what you ate and drank. At Soma Axon, someone from Soma asks when you last ate before each reading, so it gets noted next to the numbers. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, FAQ and Compare.
Can I see body composition trends without working them out myself?
Soma Labs is building the Soma app to do that part. Its Body view turns weekly Soma Axon visits into a handful of facts and reads the trend across all of them, and it always tells you how sure Soma is and how much data each answer is based on. Everything is explained in plain words. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod and app aren't available yet.
Why doesn't Soma Axon use a cuff?
Soma's design puts cameras on the job for the heart and breathing, and it says you don't need a cuff or any wires. You stand with nothing strapped to you while the pod reads you in a few minutes. Soma doesn't publish more about the reasoning than that. The pod is a general wellness product and isn't cleared or approved by the FDA, and it's still being built, with a waitlist.
Can a smartwatch measure grip strength the way Soma Axon does?
When Soma lists what a watch reads all day, it names signals like pulse, sleep and steps. Soma Axon handles grip strength with a pair of grips you hold at every weekly visit, next to balance on the floor plate and body composition. The Soma app reads your watch between visits, so the two can sit together. It's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
Does Soma compare my heart readings with other people's?
Soma sets your readings against your own usual range. Tap a score and you'll see what moved it, with each measure set against that range. After a handful of visits, Soma expects a baseline built from your own readings. Its pages don't describe ranking you against other people. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building the pod, hasn't opened one yet.
From Home, The same instrument, every week, FAQ, About and Compare.
Can I get photos of my skin without anyone taking them by hand?
In Soma Axon, cameras do it inside a closed cabin while you turn a quarter at a time, and staff never see the photos, only an outline of your body. You'd have photos from each visit to look back on, and Soma won't say whether a mole is harmful. The pod is a general wellness product, and Soma Labs, based in Palo Alto, is still building it.
Could a gym host a pod that reads members' body composition?
Gyms and studios are among the places Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building Soma Axon, has in mind as it chooses its first host sites. Members would see what their training changes in their body week after week, in a few minutes before or after a session, with body composition read on the pod's floor plate. The gym would see how often the pod gets used, never anyone's results. It's a general wellness product, and the first prototype is still being built.
From About, For organizations, FAQ and Home.
Why does it matter that the light in Soma Axon is the same every visit?
So that when a number moves, Soma can say it's because something changed in you. The pod is a closed cabin with the same light and camera angles every week, and Soma's blog explains why that matters: most health numbers depend on the hour, the room and the device as well as on the person. It's a general wellness product, and Soma Labs is still building the first prototype in Palo Alto.
From About, Home, The same instrument, every week and FAQ.
Does Soma Axon replace a DEXA scan?
Soma doesn't describe Soma Axon as replacing a DEXA scan, and the two read different things. A DEXA scan measures what you're made of, down to bone density, with a very low dose of X-rays, according to Soma's full-body scans guide. Soma Axon reads body composition with a very small electrical current and adds skin photos, heart and breathing, balance and grip strength, but bone density isn't on its list. It's a general wellness product, still being built.
From Full-body scans compared, Blog, Compare and FAQ.
What does a venue see from a hosted body scan pod?
With Soma Axon, only usage. Soma illustrates what a venue sees as visits through the week shown as bars, next to a locked results area that reads Results stay with members. Members own what the pod reads, and the venue never sees anyone's results. It's a general wellness product, and Soma is choosing its first host sites while the prototype is built.
From For organizations, FAQ and About.
How would staff help someone through a body scan visit at a studio?
In Soma's hosting plan, Soma installs the pod and trains the venue's staff to run it and help a member through a visit. The member changes in a private room, spends a few minutes in the pod and leaves with one calm number. Before each reading, someone asks how they slept, when they last ate and whether they trained. Soma Axon is a general wellness product, and the first prototype is still being built.
From For organizations, The same instrument, every week, FAQ and About.
What does the Soma blood test measure?
Soma doesn't say on its pages. It describes the blood test only as an optional add-on processed by a partner lab, with results reaching the Soma app a few days after the visit, and it'll carry its own price. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon, where the test would be offered, is still being built.
How can I see my breathing change over several weeks?
Soma Axon's cameras are designed to read breathing without touching you at every weekly visit, under the same light each time. Between visits, the Soma app's Mind reads breathing against your own usual range, and the Body view reads the trend across all your visits. Soma is a general wellness product, and the Palo Alto company behind it, Soma Labs, hasn't opened a pod yet.
Would Soma Axon replace my smart scale at home?
Soma doesn't frame it as replacing one. It sees a scale's strength in living at home, where you can step on it every morning in 30 seconds, while Soma Axon is a place you go once a week that reads body composition the same basic way, plus skin photos, balance, grip strength, heart and breathing. The Soma app reads Apple Health between visits. The pod is a general wellness product and isn't available yet.
Does Soma Axon read my sleep?
Sleep isn't on the pod's list of readings. Soma looks at sleep in other ways: someone from Soma asks how you slept before each reading so a short night gets noted next to the numbers, and the Soma app shows last night's sleep beside the Mind score. Soma's question about sleep is whether it makes up for what your days take out of you. It's a general wellness product, and the pod and app aren't available yet.
From Compare, The same instrument, every week, Home and FAQ.
Is a weekly heart reading enough, or do I need something daily?
They do different jobs, as Soma sees it. A watch is worn all day, so it can follow trends in heart rate and sleep between check-ups, while Soma Axon reads heart and breathing once a week under the same conditions. Soma pairs them: the watch or band for the days, the pod for the week. A watch is optional. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Home, Compare, Blog and FAQ.