June 2025 Newsletter
At Optispan, we don’t think small, we aim for exponential impact. The Big O notation* represents the growth of complexity in algorithms. At Optispan, we take a similar approach to scaling opportunities for optimal healthspans for everyone. Our mission is to redefine what’s possible in health, creating meaningful change on a global scale.
This month, we're taking a closer look at what's happening beneath the surface. At Optispan, we believe longevity isn't just about adding years to life—it's about identifying early signals in the body and turning them into clear, actionable steps. This edition is all about how data, from lab markers to wearable insights, can guide smarter, more personalized decisions.
We’re also proud to share that our CEO Dr. Matt Kaeberlein spoke at a recent Congressional Briefing on Longevity Science, joining other leaders in the longevity space to advocate for more support and attention toward research that promotes longer, healthier lives.
And in another exciting milestone, Optispan and Human Sync have joined forces to create the most advanced brain health program in the world. Our goal is to halt the debilitating effects of cognitive decline in people who are at high risk of dementia. We anticipate the formal launch of this program later this summer.
Here’s what’s inside:
Clinic Updates highlighting how we use advanced biomarkers to uncover risk before it becomes a problem.
Optispan Podcast episodes exploring the enigmatic microbiome, the evolving science behind biological age testing, the hard truth behind popular supplements, and more.
Healthspan Coach Notes on what wearables are revealing about metabolism, recovery, and daily habits.
We’re here to help you stay ahead of the curve, with tools and insights that make long-term health feel a little more within reach.
Turning Advanced Biomarkers into Everyday Action
By Dr. Nicki Byrne, MD
For decades, the annual physical has been the gold standard for preventive care—but let’s be honest, it hasn’t changed much. A few questions, a quick listen with a stethoscope, maybe a basic blood panel. It’s a start, but it often misses early warning signs.
That’s where advanced diagnostics come in. Tools like comprehensive blood based biomarkers, Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), AI-assisted skin cancer screening and three dimensional dental imaging give us a much deeper look—catching issues before they become problems and helping us personalize care in ways a classic exam just can’t. Then we help you take action—before things go off track.
This issue focuses on blood-based markers, POCUS, Dermasensor and iTero screening, but these are just a few pieces of the puzzle. Optispan also examines a broader range of health data, and in future issues, we’ll dive into advanced imaging, functional assessments, and other cutting-edge tools shaping personalized care.
Why (and How) We Look Beyond the Basics
Comprehensive Biomarkers
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Think of these as the number of delivery trucks on your blood highways. ApoB and LDL-P tell us how many are out there, which is more useful than just measuring how much cholesterol they’re carrying. Lp(a) is a sticky, inherited type that’s harder to manage—so keeping overall traffic low helps.
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Your body often starts pumping out extra insulin long before your blood sugar goes up. Rising fasting insulin or LP-IR scores are early signs of insulin resistance, years before pre-diabetes shows up. Catching this early means we can help you improve insulin sensitivity with smart eating, strength training, and staying active after meals.
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Inflammation is like invisible smog in your body—it quietly wears you down over time. Tracking markers like hs-CRP, Complement C3, and Ferritin helps you spot trouble early and keep your system running clean and strong.
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These give us a snapshot of how your body is handling stress, energy, and recovery. They affect everything from sleep and mood to muscle and metabolism. When they’re in balance, you feel and function better.
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Your body often starts pumping out extra insulin long before your blood sugar goes up. Rising fasting insulin or LP-IR scores are early signs of insulin resistance, years before pre-diabetes shows up. Catching this early means we can help you improve insulin sensitivity with smart eating, strength training, and staying active after meals.
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Traditional physical exams rely on what we can hear with a stethoscope or feel with our hands. But Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) takes things a step further by letting us actually see inside the body in real time. It’s like having a window into your heart and abdomen, right there in the exam room. This tool helps us spot issues earlier and with more precision than a classic exam alone. POCUS helps assess fluid around the heart, signs of fatty liver, and the health of your thyroid and carotid arteries. While not a diagnostic tool on its own, it adds valuable insight that helps guide more targeted, effective care.
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This smart, AI-powered tool diagnoses suspicious skin lesions early, giving you a head start on detection and peace of mind. By catching problems before they grow, it helps you stay ahead of disease, boost longevity, and keep your skin (and healthspan) glowing strong
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The mouth is a true gateway to the body, and maintaining oral health is essential for overall well-being. iTero’s advanced scanning technology detects dental issues early, helping to prevent the inflammation and systemic risks linked to poor oral health. By supporting a healthier mouth, iTero contributes to better long-term wellness and a more resilient healthspan.
.Ready to Start? Contact us to learn more and discover the program that is right for you. We’re incredibly excited about what’s ahead and look forward to continuing to support your journey toward a longer, healthier, more vibrant life.
Optispan Podcast
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Dr. Sean Gibbons, a leading microbiome expert, sits down with Matt to decode the complex world of your gut bacteria. Learn about good vs. bad bacteria, the impact of antibiotics and aging, and how diet and probiotics can influence your journey to better health.
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Dr. Matt Kaeberlein sits down to fact-check some of the more controversial health claims recently discussed by Dr. Mike, a popular online medical content creator. Matt clarifies what is scientifically supported, what remains speculative, and what’s outright misleading.
Watch Here -
In a recent episode of the Optispan Podcast, Dr. Matt Kaeberlein and Dr. Kevin White discussed Dr. Vonda Wright's powerful personal and scientific perspective on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which she shared at the 2025 LiveLong Conference. Matt praised her clarity and rigor, calling HRT “life-changing” for many women. Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Greger took aim at HRT with discredited data, prompting Matt to call out the spread of fear-based misinformation. “We can debate data,” Matt said, “but presenting debunked studies as fact? That’s just not okay.”
Watch Here
Wearables in Action: Real-Time Feedback You Can Use
By Will Merrick, NBHWC Certified Health & Wellness Coach
Wearables give you a real-time window into how your body is doing day-to-day. While blood tests show long-term trends, devices like the Stelo Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and Oura Ring help you see how your choices affect your health in the moment—and they can help you make changes that stick.
With the Stelo CGM, you can see how your blood sugar responds to meals in real time. Smaller spikes after eating mean your body isn’t working as hard to manage glucose, which often leads to better fasting insulin and LPIR scores over time. But it’s not just about the peak—how quickly your glucose returns to normal matters too. That’s why we also look at the area under the curve (AUC), which gives a fuller picture of how your body handles carbs. The more time your glucose stays in a healthy range (typically 70–140 mg/dL), the less stress and inflammation your body experiences, which can help improve markers like HbA1c and Ferritin.
The Oura Ring tracks what’s happening while you sleep. A healthy drop in your heart rate at night shows your body is in rest-and-repair mode, which supports better metabolic balance and recovery—this can positively influence markers like HbA1c and ApoB. Heart rate variability (HRV) is another key signal; higher HRV generally means your body is handling stress better, and improvements here often align with better cortisol, insulin, and hs-CRP levels. Getting more deep and REM sleep also helps restore hormones like testosterone and DHEA-S, and can even improve fasting glucose levels.
It is important to note that when looking at wearables data (like biomarkers), we are still looking at trends in data over time to assess how habit changes are impacting our overall healthspan. This timeline may be shorter with wearables (several weeks or a month, as opposed to 3 or 6 months with biomarkers), but it is still important to understand that day-to-day fluctuations are normal and to avoid overreacting to a single day's change. We encourage the use of event journaling in the Stelo app and tags in the Oura App to identify habit changes or events (good or bad) to be able to reflect what changes have had impact over time.
By connecting the dots between your daily habits, your wearables data and your lab results, we help you take control of your health in a way that’s both personal and powerful.
*The Big O notation is a mathematical concept used in computer science and mathematics to describe the efficiency or performance of algorithms, particularly their growth rate relative to the size of the input. It provides a high-level understanding of how an algorithm's runtime or resource usage scales as the input size increases.