Frequently Asked Questions

Getting started

What is Hemo?

Hemo is a native macOS app that turns your lab-report PDFs into a living health dashboard. It reads lab results from any lab, tracks any biomarker over time, and adds optimal ranges, plain-English meaning, and auto-calculated markers for the 181 it knows best. Your history is stored locally on your Mac.

How is Hemo different from other blood test trackers?

Most blood test trackers are web portals that hold your labs in their cloud. Hemo is a native Mac app: your history stays on your device, and you can bring labs from anywhere. Its extraction reads even scanned printouts and photos, standardizes names and units (SI included), and scores every marker against an optimal range, not just the lab's normal.

Is Hemo a medical or diagnostic tool?

No. Hemo helps you organize, track, and understand your lab results, but it is not a medical provider and does not diagnose conditions or prescribe treatment. Its summaries are informational. Always review your results and any changes with a qualified clinician.

Importing labs

What labs and file types does Hemo support?

Hemo extracts biomarkers from PDF, JPG, and PNG lab reports, including MyChart/Epic exports, scanned printouts, and long multi-page panels from labs like Quest and LabCorp. It also handles reports with multiple collection dates and bulk uploads. You review every extracted value before saving.

Can Hemo bulk import my lab results?

Yes. Drop as many lab files as you want at once. Hemo extracts several in parallel and shows an estimated time for the batch. Afterwards, review each file on the review screen to check accuracy, then save tests individually or with one click. Every uploaded report becomes its own saved test in your history.

How many biomarkers does Hemo track?

Hemo tracks any biomarker you can put a number on. There's no fixed list, and you can add markers manually. A curated library of 181 markers across 10 categories gets the full intelligence layer: standardized names and units, optimal ranges, and plain-English meaning. Markers outside the library are still tracked and charted.

Understanding results

What's the difference between a normal range and an optimal range?

A normal range is the lab's reference band, typically set so about 95% of the population falls inside it. It tells you you're typical, not that you're where you want to be. An optimal range is a tighter, functional target inside normal. Hemo shows both, scores every value as Optimal, Normal, or Out of range, and lets you set a custom optimal range when your doctor gives you a different target.

What markers does Hemo calculate automatically?

Hemo calculates seven derived markers from values you've already uploaded: HOMA-IR, non-HDL cholesterol, remnant cholesterol, the TG/HDL ratio, the ApoB/ApoA1 ratio, Risk-Weighted ApoB, and the FIB-4 index. Each is flagged as calculated, comes with its own ranges and explanation, and appears in your charts and trends like any other marker.

Why not just use ChatGPT?

ChatGPT and other AI chatbots are great for analyzing data and surfacing quick insights. They're less reliable for long-term accuracy because LLMs are probabilistic—numbers and trends can shift with the conversation. Hemo keeps a dedicated system of record that tracks markers with deterministic math, so trends don't change based on chat context. When AI reads your data, it pulls precise calculations instead of guessing. Uploading your labs to a cloud chatbot also has privacy tradeoffs.

Privacy

Does Hemo keep my data private?

Yes. Your lab history lives on your Mac, not in our cloud. The only time anything leaves your machine is when you use an AI feature, like reading a report or writing a summary. That content is processed, then discarded; we keep usage counts, never your results, and we never sell your data. Full details are in the Privacy Policy.

Where is my lab data stored?

Your lab results, biomarker history, trends, health profile, and AI-generated insights are stored locally on your Mac. Hemo does not keep a cloud database containing your health history, and browsing your saved results works offline.

What happens to my data when Hemo uses AI?

Your Mac sends only what the feature needs, over an encrypted connection, to Hemo's backend, which passes it to Azure OpenAI. The response comes back to your Mac and is saved there. Hemo doesn't keep your PDFs, values, prompts, or AI responses after the request finishes, and Microsoft doesn't use the data to train its models.

Can I export or delete my Hemo data?

Yes. You can export and restore your data with a .hemobackup file. Deleting your account removes your local health data and Hemo's backend account record, including your hashed user ID, usage counts, and activity information.

Can I use Hemo for my family?

Today Hemo supports one health profile per Apple account, so each person's labs stay under their own account. Family and dependent profiles inside one account aren't available yet.

Platform & beta

What do I need to run Hemo?

Hemo is a native macOS app for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 15.2 or later, and it uses Sign in with Apple. An internet connection is needed for AI extraction and summaries; browsing your saved history works offline. Hemo is currently in private beta.

How much does Hemo cost?

Hemo is free during its private beta. Pricing at launch will be published here.

Still curious?
Try it on your Mac.

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