SECA launches the first portable body composition scan for primary care

The German SECCA medical devices deployed the first portable body composition scanner designed for primary care parameters on Thursday. The product, called Alpha, seeks to give primary care providers a more precise image of their patient’s health.

During an annual examination, doctors generally check the patient’s weight, size and vital signs. However, they have long used obsolete methods of measuring body composition, such as the body mass index (BMI) – which many health leaders have criticized to be a deceptive and racially biased tool to analyze the health of a patient.

“Consequently, providers have not been able to monitor and report health measures such as early signs of excessive adiposity, the muscle decline linked to age and the total impact of drugs such as GLP-1 in real time,” said Nina Crowley, director of clinical education and SECA partnerships.

SECA attacks this gap in care by introducing screening for body composition in primary care visits.

The Alpha scanner uses a method called bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). The scanner passes a low level electric current through the body because different fabrics, such as fat, muscles and water, lead electricity differently. By measuring the resistance to this current, the SECCA device calculates the key components of the body composition, including fat, muscle mass and hydration levels, said Crowley.

The scan only takes 24 seconds and provides immediate results, she added.

Equipped with this data, primary care providers may have more significant discussions on their patient’s health objectives, processing options and lifestyle changes, said Crowley. She also stressed that body composition analyzes can lead to previous intervention for conditions such as sarcopenia, obesity and metabolic disorders.

SECCA competitors in Clinique BIA space include Inbody, Evolt, Tanita and Valhalla, said Crowley.

Society is distinguished by providing “the most specific body composition results that explain the age, sex and ethnicity of patients, she pointed out. She also highlighted the company’s integration capacities.

“SECA products are specifically designed for clinical environments, designed to integrate transparently into existing workflows. This ensures that providers can easily capture, interpret and act on body composition data in the realities of occupied health environments, ”said Crowley.

She noted that SECA has 65% of the global market share in the weighing and medical measurement space, serving 110 different countries. In the United States, some of its greatest customers in the health system include the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanent and Nyu Langone Health.

Photo: Natali_mis, Getty Images