I got the health scan that 100,000 people are on the waitlist for

I’m typically the first person to raise their hand to try out any of the latest health gadgets, tests or other health-related trends in the market. I have no aversion to needles, I haven’t had any experiences with “incidentalomas” and I’ve long been fascinated by this stuff, both in terms of what we can learn from it and how it will ultimately get paid for. I’ll also state upfront that I’ve come around on being very open to new ideas - there’s this knee jerk sentiment I hear a lot in medical circles that anything new must be a bunch of uneducated, arrogant tech bros.

My view on this is that until the USA can say that we’re no longer one of the worst countries in the world for health outcomes relative to our spending level, we should at least be open to innovators coming from outside medicine. Particularly those who have a respect for medicine, and want to collaborate (YES, there are some bad actors out but innovation is often disruptive). That said, I remain pragmatic about technology. I try to evaluate each new product or idea on its individual merits.

So when the Neko team invited me to Sweden to try out the health scan that just raised $260 million for its series B and counts Spotify CEO Daniel Ek as its cofounder, I knew I’d have to make the trip. I’d also spend some time with Neko CEO Hjalmar Nilsonne, who comes from a family of doctors.

Well, this week I finally made the trip. As an aside, Stockholm is quite lovely and a highly recommend it for a summer getaway!

I got the scan this past Thursday so wanted to share a review and some thoughts on it while still fresh. A quick note for my American readers: The Neko scans are available in London, UK and in Sweden but not yet in the U.S., so if you want one you’ll have to take a trip to Europe. No one knows yet what the scan will cost when the company makes its way to the States. But my hunch based on the European price point is that it will land in the $300 to $500 range per scan and visit, and I suspect it’ll start off as cash pay.

So here’s what happened in as much detail as I can remember - and where I think the company might adapt for the U.S. context! Neko has already publicly signaled the U.S. market is a priority, after raising a substantial Series B.

After I arrived to the location in central Stockholm, I met with two of the team’s nurses who promptly signed me in. My nurse was Anna, who is featured in the photo below on the right. I was directed into a room to remove any jewelry and clothing and don a robe and rubber sandals. I kept on my glasses, but didn’t wear them for the scan itself. So I recommend wearing contacts if you’d feel uncomfortable without your specs for any period of time.

There’s also a weight scale in the room, so you have an accurate measurement as it’s one of the first questions the nurses will ask.

The first step is the scan itself, which feels the most futuristic, but the rest of the experience actually felt much more like traditional primary care. People get fixated on the scan part, but it’s a very short few minutes.

So how does it work? You remove the robe, step in, and a prerecorded voice informs you that thousands of images are being taken of your body — as an aside, I suspect Americans might need messaging around how their data will be protected, as we lack some of the same privacy protections as our European peers.

As I discovered later, these images are used to create the 3D scan of the body that every patient and their doctor will review during the consult. There’s also a dermatology component to the checkup, which stood out to me as one of the more compelling parts of the visit as I have a family history of melanoma. Hover over any rendering of your body, and the care team can pull up any mole or skin mark that looks even mildly concerning to take a closer look.

The scan was completed in a few minutes, and Anna handed me back my robe and escorted me to a bed where she walked me through the rest of the visit, which includes a check of my heart, vital signs, and some bloodwork (blood sugar, blood fats, cholesterol & more).

Once I laid down, I received a battery of tests that included the bloodwork - the vials of blood are put into a machine, you hear a swoosh sound, and then the vials disappear - an ECG, and a blood pressure check at the arms and the legs. That part of the experience takes about 15 to 20 minutes. We chatted throughout, and Anna asked me a few questions as my results came through. I’m one of those people with naturally low blood pressure (at this point it was about 96 over 60, but that’s common for me). Anna pointed out that it can be valuable to have multiple measurements over time in the system to get a sense of what’s normal for a patient.

Once all the information was collected, the general medicine physician arrived to introduce herself and begin the next portion of the visit. At this point, I noted to myself how quickly everything seemed to be speeding along. There was no wait for the doctor or the nurse, which already stood out, particularly given my experience of medicine both in the U.K and the U.S where each medical visit is comprised of a series of waiting periods in different rooms. I also didn’t spot the clinicians performing much documentation, and I appeared to have their full attention throughout.

The doctor asked me to disrobe, so we could proceed with the mole and skin check. We didn’t see much of anything of concern, but I highlighted one newer mark and my nurse took a few additional images beyond what had already been captured by the scan. It had been a few years since I’d had my skin checked by a dermatologist, so this gave me some peace of mind. This is also where it’s beneficial to take an additional scan. Because Neko essentially had a record of my body in 3-D, they’d theoretically know if any new suspicious moles had developed between visits.

About thirty minutes had passed since the scan. And the results were ready, including the bloodwork. I’m not used to such a quick turnaround with labs! But I’ll note that there are some tradeoffs — not all bloodwork can be done so quickly. A subset of patients will require further bloodwork and testing, which means a follow-up visit or a trip to a specialist. Still, we covered some of the basics for a primarily care visit, primarily covering my cardiovascular-related risks and dermatology.

My doctor led me into a new private consultation room to discuss.

So what did I learn?