Health & Wellbeing

Skulpt measures muscle quality and fat levels in an instant

Skulpt measures muscle quality and fat levels in an instant
Want to know the quality and fat level of your muscles? Skulpt can tell you
Want to know the quality and fat level of your muscles? Skulpt can tell you
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Want to know the quality and fat level of your muscles? Skulpt can tell you
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Want to know the quality and fat level of your muscles? Skulpt can tell you
This is version 2 of the Skulpt Scanner on show at Interbike, and this time there's no integrated screen
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This is version 2 of the Skulpt Scanner on show at Interbike, and this time there's no integrated screen
12 electrodes around the back of the device push a harmless electric current through muscles
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12 electrodes around the back of the device push a harmless electric current through muscles
Readouts are provided via an app for Android and iOS
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Readouts are provided via an app for Android and iOS
Skulpt beams back its data via Bluetooth and you can order one now for $99
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Skulpt beams back its data via Bluetooth and you can order one now for $99
Scanning takes a couple of seconds
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Scanning takes a couple of seconds
The Skulpt team says anyone interested in health and fitness can make use of the device
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The Skulpt team says anyone interested in health and fitness can make use of the device
The Skulpt app will recommend a personal training program based on the data it's gathered
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The Skulpt app will recommend a personal training program based on the data it's gathered
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If you're looking to go beyond the standard fitness tracker, there are a growing number of specialist devices now available for quantifying just about every aspect of your existence. Skulpt just launched version 2 of its muscle tone and fat monitor at the Interbike expo in Las Vegas this week, and New Atlas was there to take a look.

The Skulpt Scanner is a palm-sized device with 12 electrodes on its back – press them briefly against any muscle to get a readout on the accompanying mobile app telling you just how lean (or otherwise) it is. A small electric current, which you reportedly can't feel, takes the reading, and Skulpt just needs a couple of seconds to grab its info.

The idea is you learn more about the efficiency of your exercise and can tailor programs that are really making a difference to the strength of your body. Skulpt's makers say it utilizes a range of frequencies and a custom-made algorithm to achieve accuracies to rival professional-level kit.

Essentially, the resistance and density Skulpt detects under your skin enables it to take muscle quality and fat readings. This new version of the gadget ditches the original's integrated screen, with the app for iOS and Android offering detailed feedback instead, and can then suggest workout regimes to try and improve weaker areas.

12 electrodes around the back of the device push a harmless electric current through muscles
12 electrodes around the back of the device push a harmless electric current through muscles

The system is also able to warn about possible muscle injuries, and is even smart enough to work out which exercises are helping you and which aren't, as long as you're prepared to share your daily routine with it.

The Skulpt team is keen to emphasize that muscle composition and body fat matters for anyone looking to improve their health and fitness, not just professional bodybuilders – but it's likely that only the serious gym goers are going to be able to put Skulpt to good use, even if it's simple enough for anyone to operate (a definite plus).

With devices like Skulpt and TomTom's new Touch tracker we're seeing body composition measurements added to the usual variables like steps counted and calories burned, giving us more and more data about our health. That's only useful if you know what to do with it, but at first glance Skulpt's accompanying apps seem to hit the mark.

You can order the Bluetooth Skulpt Scanner now for US$99, with a charging cradle and spray water bottle included. The apps are free to download and use.

Product page: Skulpt

View gallery - 8 images
6 comments
6 comments
Douglas Bennett Rogers
This looks like the first truly quantitative fitness measurement device and at a good price point!
ljaques
I just looked at an apparently similar body scanner which, IMHO, couldn't possibly work from simply weighing you. Tanita BC54. This Skulpt looks a whole lot more likely to be accurate since it takes scans all over the body, not just from the scale/bottoms of the feet, and they're active scans during training. Kudos, Skulpt, for bringing this to market. I just retired and think this might help prompt me to keep in good enough shape to last for a few more decades. I wish to stay out of the doctor's office and the morgue. :)
matty
Nice write-up! Long time Skulpt user here, and that part about "The system is also able to warn about possible muscle injuries." is news to me... but they're working on quite a few aspects of the device still, so maybe it's just yet to be released as this point.
AshmitTuladhar
Great review. I own two of this device and every statement here is well written. I would defo recommend it to any fitness fanatics.
JamesRichardson
Amazing product, helps me to understand muscles and what I need to work on!!!!
KevinChang
good review, would love to see more comparison with other comparable devices for fat % measurement though