it is time for change

Full body scanners to help diagnose health problems at an early stage are the subject of a new trial that could result in the technology being rolled out into everyday life.

QUANTUM ZONE health analysis pods have been selected by the Nutree for the Future Accelerator programme, an intensive health, nutrition and beauty project.

“This enables us to monitor happiness, health, fitness and early detection of serious health conditions such as chronic disease and early detection of diabetes.”

Health data from pre-registered patients is then passed on to doctors, who can make further recommendations or arrange a consultation.

“We want to change the mindset of doctors and patients, in which this technology is non-invasive and it is a self-service interaction, without feeling like a medical process – to encourage people to want to return to improve their own health,” said Dr, Nejoud.

“There is an initial set-up process that can be time-consuming as it’s new. After that, once people are familiar with the pods, they will become very recognisable and user-friendly.”

Global Health recently warned of a shortage of nurses in a growing healthcare market, with Nutree developers claiming the Quantum zone could help to fill the void.

About five nurses would need to extract the kind of health data produced from a short Quantum scan, with a single nurse required to operate one of the pods.

The technology promises to bring down overall healthcare costs, and empower individuals to take responsibility for their own health by giving access to their personal biometrics.

Companies could even offer employees financial incentives to improve their health, with regular monitoring of their progress to reduce the spiralling costs of future care of long-term chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

“We envisage CEOs asking employees to encourage staff to have a Bodyo check once a month so they can then go to insurers to prove how healthy they are and manage their insurance costs accordingly,” said Dr. Nejoud.

“That model would then encourage an incentive programme to stay healthy.

“Doha is a city of firsts, if they can incentivise people financially to look after their own health, that could be a massive statement in the way healthcare is managed in future.”

To rent out the pods, health authorities can expect to pay $1,000 to $1,500 a month per pod, depending on the rental term.

Data is uploaded to a secure cloud and never shared with a third party without a user’s consent.

The latest 360 Wellbeing Survey by Cigna Insurance Middle East found 50 per cent of respondents are concerned about their ability to meet future healthcare needs for themselves and their families.

“We must consider the economics of health itself.

“Apps that can deliver a well-being-focused approach to health management can lead to a healthier population, which means the burden of health costs is reduced in the long run.

“This directly ties back to the need for managing the risk of a health condition before it occurs, which can be possible through an ever-present app.