Is this futuristic £299 health scan the key to living longer?

Stepping into the yellow glow of Neko Health's scanning room feels a bit like entering an alien spaceship. With minimalist decor and comforting touches - slippers upon arrival, a jug of water in the warmly-lit waiting room - it is a futuristic fusion of a spa and a high-end doctor's surgery. This is the place where, for £299, you can have a full-body health MOT in under an hour.

Since opening its first clinic in Stockholm in February 2023, the Swedish health-tech company has seen huge demand for its comprehensive health assessments, which include blood vessel analysis, mole checks, an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood test to measure blood sugar, cholesterol, haemoglobin, inflammatory markers and more. Co-founded by Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek and serial entrepreneur Hjalmar Nilsonne, it aims to transform healthcare from a reactive approach to a preventative one using advanced technology.

Millions of Britons aged 40 to 74 are eligible for a free NHS Health Check, which offers advice on lowering risk of major conditions including heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and stroke.

Neko's offering is similar but is open to all over-16s and goes further, combing through each individual's data to identify steps they can take to optimise their health.

Dr Sam Rodgers, the company's lead GP, explains: "It's a preventative health scan so we're really looking to either advise people about the kind of risk factors they've got for developing health problems in future and how to change those, or in some cases, detecting diseases early.

"The usual motivation is people either wanting a general health check or having a specific health concern they want to address.

"Almost anyone in the debrief room will find something they can change to live a healthier life. 80% of people need no medical follow-up after their scan, they're essentially healthy.

"But they may need optimisation of particular areas - sleep, stress, diet, exercise, avoidable risk factors like smoking or alcohol."

Neko now has four sites in the UK: one in Manchester and three in London (Marylebone, Spitalfields and Covent Garden). Staff are known as operators and customers are members, not patients.

Upon arrival, members are asked to change into a robe and enter the scanning room, which is bursting with technology. Most impressive is the skin cancer check, which involves ditching the robe and standing in front of an array of cameras that take 2,000 high resolution images to build a detailed map of every mole, freckle and blemish.

This catalogue creates a reference that can help identify any worrying changes on repeat visits. A doctor also arrives at this point to conduct a visual skin examination, ensuring nothing is missed.

As the barrage of tests continues, a blood sample taken by the operator is dispatched via a pneumatic cylinder system for rapid analysis.

Blood pressure readings are taken simultaneously by cuffs on all four limbs, lasers are used to look at the health of large blood vessels, and patterns of green light shining on the wrist measure levels of haemoglobin and oxygen in the smallest blood vessels.

"We're looking for early signs of the kinds of chronic diseases which are becoming so common in the UK," Dr Rogers explains. "We're particularly interested in the health of large and small blood vessels, that will tell us about someone's risk of developing problems like a heart attack or stroke in the future."

Eye pressure and blood pressure are also checked. The latter is increasingly seen as a reliable indicator of longevity. Dr Rogers adds: "What we find is the stronger you can grip with your hands, the greater the probability that you will live a long and healthy life.

"The more muscle mass you have, the more efficient your metabolism is going to be, and the less likely you are to suffer problems like frailty in old age."

Finally, it's time to get dressed and sit down with the doctor to hear the results. These show not only your readings but also predictions for future trends, and how you compare to other Neko members.

The goal, Dr Rogers says, is to find the fine details that can be missed in a typical medical consultation. Your blood sugar levels may be safely within the healthy range now, but does the trend suggest they won't be in future? What can be done now to change that?

This thinking can help to identify "the small changes you can make to alter your health trajectory over the next 20 or 30 years". Dr Rogers adds: "How often can you say that you've had 20 minutes with a doctor that is focused purely on your health, your agenda, and with a heavy preventative element?"

A health MOT can be a powerful motivator for members like Rob Dean, 47. The sales and marketing worker from Guilford, Surrey, had his first Neko scan in January as part of a lifestyle overhaul.

He says: "I was in a place where I'd become a bit unhealthy - overweight, depressed, my blood pressure was high. I knew I had to make some lifestyle changes but I was struggling to find the motivation to do something about it.

"I decided 2025 was going to be a year of really looking after myself. I wanted to draw a line in the sand and say 'I'm going to start'."

Rob, who describes himself as "a little bit of a sci-fi nerd", says Neko's futuristic offering seemed a great fit - and exceeded his expectations. "It didn't come across as a hospital appointment, it almost felt like a spa treatment experience."

Rob scored well for cholesterol and diabetes risk but his blood pressure was a little high. He plays sports regularly, so one of the biggest surprises was a below average grip strength score.

"That was the extra piece of motivation I needed to start doing some resistance training in the gym," he adds. "Before, I was a bit like an ostrich with my head in the sand. This gave me the opportunity to really take my head out and take note of what's going on.

"This isn't just about getting a snapshot of that moment in time, it's about trying to identify where you're heading. That's the reality check that I wanted."

Rob has since improved his diet and joined a gym which offers personal training. He has lost around 13.5kg of body fat and gained 3.5kg of muscle, and is excited to see what this does to his health data. "When I go back to Neko in January 2026 I'm really hoping to see some dramatic changes."

Data from 4,362 people scanned by Neko in Sweden in 2024 shows 18.7% required medical follow-up while the rest were in good health. Some 19 members were diagnosed with severe cardiovascular diseases, eight with severe metabolic conditions, and 25 with skin cancer. A further 207 members were diagnosed with significant conditions including type 2 diabetes and kidney diseases.

Around 80% of members become repeat customers, a figure that Dr Rogers sees as "a ringing endorsement of what we do".

Private health checks are sometimes criticised for adding to pressure on the NHS from people who are not satisfied with their results and want to see their GP afterwards. But Dr Rogers insists Neko operates responsibly, offering free follow-up tests when necessary to confirm findings.

The company is also involved in the engineering and regulatory work needed to bring new devices to market.

The cost may put Neko's service out of reach for some, but for others £299 is a price worth paying for such detailed insights into your health. Some comparable scans charge closer to £1,000, Dr Rogers says.

"We're aiming to make our technology as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. It's not just for those who can afford it."

He adds: "What surprised me the most when I came to work for Neko was the age range. I've spoken to everyone from an 18-year-old through to people in their 80s.

"I think everyone, regardless of their life stage, is interested in how to live longer and how to maximise your years of healthier life."

So, does Dr Rogers envision a world in which we all go for regular Neko-style scans to predict what the future holds? "I think we have to. When you look at the challenge that health services face globally, demand is rising. The availability of doctors cannot rise at the same rate.

"You can keep throwing money and people and medications at that problem, but that will never solve it. It's about making sure we all establish healthy lifestyle habits as early in life as we possibly can.

"This type of preventative healthcare scanning technology is the key to doing that. We arm people with information about their health status now that helps them make those decisions and establish those behaviours that are going to keep them well."

Arriving at Neko Health's clinic in the heart of Spitalfields Market, you are immediately transported from the bustle outside to a clinical, calm and futuristic space. Everything is white and grey and clean.

The sequence of tests, scans and consultation unfolds with the precision of a well-rehearsed choreography. I'm guided into a booth that looks a bit like a spray-tanning pod. Arms raised as if passing through airport security. A sudden flash of white light. In seconds, a full-body image appears - every freckle and blemish magnified in unforgiving clarity.

From there, the tests come quickly. It all takes around 45 minutes.

During the consultation, Dr Sam Rogers introduces me to my Neko avatar. "Give me the bad news first. Or is it all bad news?" I joke.

I sit at a desk for 10-hours a day, I drink too much, I don't exercise and I have a family history of stroke. So my results are a pleasant surprise.

Sam was delighted by my heart age - six years younger than my chronological age, which is the best he's seen. And he congratulated me on my "phenomenal" HDL cholesterol levels.

One area to improve is my exercise regime. Dr Rogers recommended a balance of strength, cardio and flexibility. Two hours a week of calisthenics, pilates, flexibility work, and some strengthening exercises in particular for bone density. Admittedly bone density has never been on my radar.

"Women are more likely to develop osteoporosis as they age, especially after menopause," Dr Rogers explained. "Once you've been through menopause, it's too late to build bone mass - you need to start now."

My iron was a tad low so Dr Rogers suggested pairing green, leafy veg with a squeeze of lemon or orange to turbo-charge iron absorption. A skin lesion on my shoulder will be monitored.

The Neko health scan is slick and genuinely impressive, especially if, like me, you're used to the NHS's snail's pace. If you have worries about your heart or skin cancer, it can flag problems or put your mind at ease in a single visit.

That said, it's best seen as a complement to, not a replacement for, NHS care. A snapshot that helps you act early, then take anything concerning back to your GP.