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Body + Mind

We Tried The Full-Body Health Scan That Has A 40k-Person Waitlist

Health anxiety is on the rise, especially among women, but could celebrity-backed full-body scans really be the high-tech solution? Citizen Femme tried the Neko Health body scan, the very-latest London wellness launch that already has a 40k-person waitlist. Here’s our verdict…

I’d like to think that I’m a fairly healthy person with an interest in taking care of my body, eating well (most of the time!) and exercising regularly. But since becoming a mum and wanting to stick around for as long as possible for this little person, it had got me thinking about delving a bit deeper into what was going on in my body and what my longer-term health outlook might be.

Having looked into the private health scans that are available on the market – and having ruled them out for being far too expensive (we’re talking thousands of pounds) – I came across brand new clinic, Neko Health, that has just launched in London, offering an AI-powered service for a relatively more affordable, £299.

Not content with the global success of the audio streaming service Spotify, founder and CEO Daniel Ek decided to co-launch another startup with Neko Health. It is already shaking up the healthcare industry and filling a gap in the market for preventative care at a much more accessible price point.

So far, the full-body scans have identified people with potentially serious conditions including aortic aneurysms, severe diabetes, and skin cancer. After attracting big-name backers, the medical diagnostics company opened its second site in Marylebone last year (after debuting in Stockholm) which now has a waiting list of over 40,000 people. The good news is that they are planning to open more health centres in the near future. So is it worth the wait?

WHAT IS NEKO?

The unique non-invasive scan maps millions of health data points on your body – both inside and out – in just a few minutes. All the moles on your body are checked, plus the overall health of your heart and arteries. With a blood test, they check your blood sugar and cholesterol levels and a whole lot more. Combining advanced technology with their on-site doctors’ expertise means you can get a comprehensive picture of what’s going on without having to wait days or weeks for the results.

They check for high blood pressure and other early indicators for strokes and heart attacks too – along with blood fats, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels, to assess pre-diabetes risk. Blood pressure is measured on both the ankles and arms to check how well blood is flowing through the body. Differences between the readings can reveal issues like narrowed arteries, poor blood flow, or stiff blood vessels, often linked to conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Additionally, they check for skin cancer and any blood abnormalities.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The actual scan and other testing only took about 20 minutes from start to finish. First, I stood in a space-age booth in my underwear, adopting various poses as directed by a nurse – somewhat similar to getting a spray tan – while cameras took images for mole mapping, along with thermal scans for any hidden heat patterns.

Then after popping my dressing gown and slippers back on, I lay down on a bed for tests, including blood pressure with cuffs on both my arms and ankles to show how the blood was flowing around my body. Sensors were put on my chest to monitor and take readings from my heart; there’s a grip strength test where you squeeze a device as hard as you can; and also a puff of air in your eyeball which measures your eye pressure. After being extracted from my arm, my blood was put into a vacuum tube in a vial and whooshed off to the lab upstairs for instant analysis.

It all feels seamless and actually quite relaxing – the opposite of how most medical procedures feel – and the décor throughout is very minimalist, with colour-washed walls painted in pastel colours to add to the calming, spa-like effect. Once the tests were complete, I was asked to get dressed and then accompanied to an adjoining room to review the results with one of the clinic’s doctors; there was no sign of diabetes or heart disease, but perhaps a suggestion to work on my muscle strength as compared to my age group it was on the lower end of the scale.

For the majority of people who go through the scan without needing any immediate attention, the idea is to book in annually so that you are able to track any changes over time. All the data is stored at Neko so you can potentially spot any problems early on. While it may not cover all bases, Neko certainly offers peace of mind that you’re on the right track and certainly made me feel reassured that my lifestyle choices were standing me in good stead for the future.


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