Free AI check-up, anyone?
dubai — You could soon get a quick health check-up done for free as you take a break from shopping at malls across Dubai. Over 40 pods powered by artificial intelligence (AI) would be set up at malls, clinics, corporations or other places with a high footfalls by mid-August.
Once a user steps on to the pod, he/ she would be scanned for body composition, including blood pressure, body fat, hydration, weight and much more. “The AI pod does a full body scan and gives a health score of between 1-10,” said Tariq Hussain, CEO of Bodyo, the company behind the pods.
Free to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) pods that will do quick health scans for the public and give immediate results will be set up across Dubai in a few months.
At least 44 pod units will be ready by mid-August and soon be set up across at malls, clinics, corporations or other places with a high footfall, said Tariq Hussain, CEO of Bodyo, the company that has conceived and assembled the health pods in the UAE. The company has the capacity to produce 350 such pods.
“These are the first such kind of AI pods designed in the UAE,” said Tariq, adding that “only the RnD had been done by the biomedical scientists in France”. The project was presented as part of the fourth Future Accelerators Cycle being held under the Dubai Future Foundation showcasing innovation in healthcare.
“The aim of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), as part of the Dubai Future Accelerators initiative, is to explore the latest in technology,” said Dr Mohammad Al Redha, director of the executive office for organisational transformation in DHA.
“We aim to revolutionise the way healthcare is delivered while focusing on patient-centric care. We are looking for ways to improve the lives of patients and ensure patients lead a high quality of life to the best extent possible. Technology also has the power to improve efficiencies of the overall health sector, improve healthcare management and bring down the cost of care,” he said.
Khulood Al Ali, specialist at the executive office for organisational transformation in DHA, said: “It is important to understand the benefits of the Dubai Future Accelerators initiative. It provides us with a platform to think of ground-breaking ideas that can benefit patients and the health sector in general.”
Once the user has stepped into the pod and entered a programme, he/she will be scanned for body composition including blood pressure, body fat, hydration, weight and much more.
“The scanner is different from the ones available at gyms and other places since they just scan certain body parts but the AI pod does a full body scan and gives a health score of between 1-10,” said Tariq.
Users can download an app on both Apple and Android systems which has a health programme that can help improve the score. “There is a training and nutritional programme designed as per the user’s needs,” he explained, adding that the data can be used to improve the score that can be checked on the next visit. The data can also be shared with the doctor. “This way we can follow trends and patterns and monitor diseases before they set in and become an issue,” he said.
It takes five minutes to pre-register before using the pod and another 5-10 minutes for the full scan.
The company will start clinical trials with the DHA and the results will be shared with doctors to check for variables. “We want to motivate and encourage people to come back so we will plan to give them gifts such as credits to engage them,” said Tariq.
The version being readied for the UAE has a privacy panel and a range of languages including Arabic. In the US the pod is leased for between $1,000 to $1,400 per month, while the company does all the maintenance.