Every answer, part 43 of 145
Answers 841 to 860 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 DEXA scan cost?
About $40 to $185, according to Soma's full-body scans guide, with sources read September 26, 2026. Providers suggest a scan every 3 to 6 months, and each takes about 7 to 11 minutes with a very low dose of X-rays. Soma hasn't announced a price for Soma Axon and says it'll be priced like a weekly habit. Soma Axon is a general wellness product.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare and FAQ.
How does Soma Axon compare with a DEXA scan on how long it takes?
A DEXA scan takes about 7 to 11 minutes, per Soma's full-body scans guide, and Soma Axon's whole-body read takes a few minutes. The schedules differ more: DEXA providers suggest a scan every 3 to 6 months, while Soma Axon is built for a weekly visit. DEXA uses a very low dose of X-rays, and Soma Axon uses nothing ionizing. It's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare and FAQ.
Should I rely on Soma in an emergency?
No. Soma's Terms say that in a medical emergency you should call 911 or your local emergency number and not rely on Soma. Soma is a general wellness product and isn't medical care, and Soma Axon reads you once a week in a pod that isn't available yet.
From Terms of Use, FAQ, Home and Compare.
What's the difference between a body composition estimate and a measurement?
Soma's full-body scans guide uses both words: a smart scale estimates your body composition with a very small electrical current, while a DEXA scan measures what you're made of, down to bone density. Soma's Terms go further and call every number Soma shows an estimate, shown with its uncertainty. Soma Axon will read body composition the smart scale's basic way, as a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, Terms of Use, Blog, FAQ and Compare.
How does Soma's full-body scans guide describe Soma Axon?
As a weekly pod that's still being built, taking a few minutes once a week, with the price not announced and no radiation. The guide lists its readings as skin photos, heart and breathing, ECG, EEG, thermal imaging, body composition, balance and grip strength. It also says Soma Axon won't image your organs. Soma describes it as a general wellness product.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare and FAQ.
How often do providers suggest a whole-body MRI compared with a DEXA scan?
Once a year for a whole-body MRI and every 3 to 6 months for DEXA, the providers suggest, according to Soma's full-body scans guide. MRI images organs and tissue with no radiation, while DEXA reads body fat, visceral fat, lean mass and bone density with a very low dose of X-rays. Soma Axon, which Soma Labs is building in Palo Alto, is designed for a weekly visit. It's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, About and FAQ.
How often should I use Soma Axon?
Once a week is the design. Soma Axon is built for a weekly visit so you can see how your readings change from one week to the next, and a member who comes every week makes 52 visits a year. Between visits, your phone and watch fill in the days through the Soma app. It's a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, For organizations, Home, FAQ and Compare.
Does a clinic health scan or Soma Axon include a clinician?
A clinic scan does, by Soma's description: its full-body scans guide says a clinic scan puts several instruments and a clinician in one visit. Soma Axon is a general wellness product and isn't medical care. At a visit, someone from Soma welcomes you and asks a few questions, and hosting venues get staff trained to run the pod. Soma tells people to keep seeing their doctor, and the pod isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, FAQ, Home, For organizations and Compare.
Will Soma tell me what to eat?
Soma's pages don't describe meal plans. What they describe is a gut view built on what you eat, how you feel and how your body responds. The Today view sums up the day in three scores and one next move. Soma's AI features, if you use them, are informational only and aren't medical advice. Soma is a general wellness product, and the app isn't ready yet.
From Home, Terms of Use and FAQ.
Does a smartwatch or Soma Axon cover sleep?
A watch does, since being worn all day lets it follow trends in heart rate and sleep between check-ups, as Soma's blog notes. Soma Axon doesn't list sleep among its readings, though someone from Soma asks how you slept before each reading so a short night gets noted next to the numbers. Soma sees a ring covering your nights and the pod covering the week. It's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Compare, Blog and FAQ.
Does Soma Axon take body measurements like waist size?
Body measurements like that aren't on the list Soma publishes for the pod, which covers skin photos, heart and breathing, ECG, EEG, thermal imaging, body composition, balance and grip strength. In Soma's full-body scans guide, it's 3D body scanners that read your shape and measurements. Soma Axon is a general wellness product, and it's still being built.
From Compare, Full-body scans compared and FAQ.
How big is the Soma Axon pod?
A drawing on Soma's home page marks it at 1.3 m wide and 2.3 m tall. Inside that closed cabin sit the cameras, thermal imaging, EEG, ECG, a pair of grips and the floor plate that reads body composition and balance. Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company building it, describes the pod as a general wellness product. The first prototype is still in progress.
How do I contact Soma about my data or its terms?
Data questions go to privacy@somalabs.me, the address for access, copies, corrections and deletion requests. Questions about the Terms go to legal@somalabs.me, which is also where notices to Soma are sent. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon doesn't collect anything today.
From Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and FAQ.
Why does Soma Axon read balance?
Soma counts balance, along with strength and how you move, among the first things to change with age. Its pod reads balance on the floor plate at every visit, the same way each time, so a slow change can show up as a trend. Soma doesn't claim more for balance than that. It's a general wellness product, and Soma Labs in Palo Alto is still building the pod.
Does Soma Axon read me at the same time of day each week?
Soma's pages don't set a time of day for visits. What they fix is the setup: the pod, its lighting and its camera angles don't change between visits, and someone from Soma asks how you slept, when you last ate and whether you trained, so those differences get noted next to the numbers. Soma's blog notes that most health numbers depend on the hour as well as on you. It's a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet.
From Home, The same instrument, every week, FAQ and Compare.
A visit, step by step
How long does a visit to Soma Axon take?
About as long as it takes to get a coffee. You stand still for a few minutes while the pod takes its reading, turning a quarter at a time so the cameras can photograph your skin all the way around, and the recovery part comes after that. The pod is meant for general wellness and isn't open yet, because Soma is still building the first prototype. For now there's a waitlist.
What do you wear inside the Soma pod?
Your underwear. You change in a private room first, and nothing gets strapped to you. If you'd rather cover more, Soma will give you a fitted garment, though the skin it covers won't be photographed. Like everything Soma makes, the pod isn't medical care. It's still being built, and the waitlist will hear first where the first one opens.
What happens when you arrive for a Soma visit?
Someone from Soma welcomes you and asks how you slept, when you last ate and whether you trained. Those answers are noted next to your numbers, so a short night or a hard session is on the record. Then you change in a private room and step into the pod. It's a wellness visit as Soma is designing it, and the pod isn't medical care. The first prototype is still being built, and the waitlist hears first.
From Home, The same instrument, every week, FAQ, Blog, About and Compare.
What is the recovery part of a Soma visit?
It's the part of every visit that follows the reading: warmth, cool air and mist, light, sound and a slow breath. Soma says it's there to help you feel good, and it isn't meant to treat anything. You can make any part of it gentler, too. Soma Axon is still being built, and like the rest of Soma it isn't a medical device.
What do you do inside Soma Axon during the scan?
You stand still with your hands on the grips and your feet on the plate. Cameras, light and contact sensors read you in a few minutes, and you turn a quarter at a time so your skin gets photographed all the way around. The recovery part comes next. Soma is building the first prototype of this general wellness pod now, with a waitlist for the first opening.