Wearing nothing but underpants, I’m standing in front of a dozen or so high-res cameras in a SoHo basement.
A woman’s voice rings out above me: “A bright light will shine for a few moments. Please close your eyes.”
I’m at the brand new Neko Health on Lafayette Street, where the machine (and a doctor) will analyze my skin to flag anything of concern. And that’s just one of the tests.
For $499, the Swedish company provides information on your skin, body composition, visceral fat, circulation and heart health. Single tests that look at some of these, like MRI and DEXA, can run several hundred to several thousand dollars each without insurance.
“I wouldn’t say that there’s anything else out there that’s similar” to Neko’s scans, Dr. Sunita Mishra, the company’s chief medical officer, told The Post.
And there are a ton of gadgets at work, including a proprietary laser system that looks at micro-vasculature in your feet — complete with swooshing animations, dramatic lighting effects and a futuristic office that wouldn’t be out of place on a Disney World ride.
I went to see for myself whether it was just another unnecessary health gimmick or something that could offer truly valuable insights — and ended up learning something about my heart that past EKGs had missed.
Preventative health gets high-tech
Preventative health is a booming $415 billion market, fueled by a rise in chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure. And New York is a hotbed for the ultra rich to get cutting-edge medical care for the sake of longevity — with one plan running $60,000 a year with a $100,000 initiation fee.
Neko Health is taking a different approach, hoping to give a better picture of individual health to a wider range of people.
The reality is that most American adults don’t actually get their annual physicals and only going to the doctor when they’re sick, meaning they may be missing big problems lurking below the surface.
Neko has some crazy success stories of catching those life-threatening conditions in their other locations in London and Stockholm, including “lots of melanoma” and “serious metabolic conditions in about 6% of people,” Mishra said.
“Just last week, we found somebody with a dissecting aortic aneurysm, which is like what Lindsey Graham had. We found that and we were able to get them to care ASAP — they got their surgery the very next day,” she said.
She said they’ve also helped patients find leukemia, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
Neko’s scans, she explained, are made for people who are already dipping their toes into learning more about their health, like Oura or Whoop users. Their hour-long service is not currently covered by insurance, but people can use their FSA/HSA.
What a scan at Neko Health is like
Back to the underground spaceship in SoHo. After the full frontal (and full posterior) photos for closeups of the skin, I put my robe back on for more tests and imaging.
Other than the Jetsons-inspired environment, it was quite spa-like. Piano music played and an operator walked me through all the tests, including an EKG, blood pressure measurements and a blood draw. My vials of blood were then sucked out of the room through a pneumatic tube and analyzed in-house so results are ready to go over by the time you’re done.
Then came the really high-tech stuff: Neko’s proprietary gadgets include the camera and light system that checked by skin, plus tools that look at circulation and heart health.
As testing started, a Siri-esque voice came from the speakers and the lights dimmed, while a monitor displayed an “analyzing” animation out of Star Trek.
Lasers from the ceiling measured my heart function and pulse, while a separate test sent lasers at the base of my feet to measure circulation.
They ended with grip strength, which can give a good idea of lean muscle mass and longevity, and eye pressure, which can show risk of glaucoma.
My Neko Health results
After those tests, the doctor came out for a closer look at the skin, including the soles of my feet and in between my toes and fingers. He told me that Asians (like me) are more prone to get melanoma on my palms and feet.
He used a special scope to look for spots with unusual borders, shape or size. After I got the all-clear, the doc went over every result in yet another space-age room.
Be warned: You’ll be confronted with an animated blue avatar of your naked body from that blinding first scan. This was a major jump scare for me.
I was given an estimate of my body composition including visceral fat, which can be indicators of metabolic disease like diabetes and fatty liver disease.
But an important note: Doctors at Neko don’t diagnose. Suspicious findings are referred to partners at medical centers for confirmation.
The clinician flagged something was off about my heart — something that’s been suspected by my past doctors. For years, I’d get light-headed at random and even fainted once in a exercise class. I’ve also frequently had very high heartbeat readings at rest.
EKGs were repeatedly ordered but never revealed answers. This time, the EKG came back with something: evidence of right axis deviation. This is when the direction of the heart’s electrical signal is a bit shifted to the right.
“This can happen for several reasons. Some of these are harmless, and some may need further investigation [or] treatment such as an echocardiogram,” aka an ultrasound for the heart, the doctor told me.
My results were sent to an in-house cardiologist who, about a day later, determined I should see my own cardiologist for further evaluation.
The bottom line
There were some elements that I didn’t find particularly useful — like my supposed “heart age,” which boils down my heart health and risks. And while the experience did feel super premium, it certainly verged on the theatrical — which may be a draw for some but might add anxiety for others.
That said, what mattered was walking away with more information about my health. I found it incredibly useful that I’d just gone to get my annual physical about a month prior and could compare the experiences.
At Neko, testing was infinitely more comfortable and thorough. My operator could really take her time, as opposed to a tech running in and out of the room, hurriedly slapping me with cold medical equipment as they’re setting up.
I also got more information from my operator and doctor during review about my health than I could at my primary care office. In an hour, you learn more about things you don’t know or have time to ask about — like what each blood fat signals — and for me that was incredibly valuable.
To be clear, though, my Neko clinician said that they’re not trying to replace your PCP. I see this service as something that’s really nice to have as a supplement to your annual physical. If you’re going in for a scan, I’d do it before your physical so you have a bigger picture of your health, with points to follow up on with your PCP on.
And while a single scan offers important insight, tracking those changes year over year is where the true value lives — and why, despite a few lingering reservations, I’ll be handing over another $499 to stand in that SoHo basement next year.
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