Carl, you just got a BrainKey Scan. Was this the first time you have had a brain MRI scan?

It was!

Have you ever been wondering about your brain health before? What made you want to get it at this point in your life?

Definitely, physical and mental health are cornerstones of my lifestyle, and I get a fair bit of medical support throughout the year in that regard, but brain health is something that neither sports nor medicine really actively probe. I’ve always wondered about my brain health and given I recently had COVID-19 and had been reading about the potential for lasting neurological side effects, this seemed like the right time!

How was your experience getting scanned? Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Well, I’ve had more than my share of sports injuries and resulting MRIs, so this was a pretty normal experience for me. Just throw in earplugs and space out for 20 minutes while the machine works its magic.

What happened when you saw your brain on your BrainKey dashboard? What was your reaction to seeing your own brain, seeing it in 3D, and learning more about it with the different BrainKey dashboard features?

A pretty cool out-of-body experience. I’ve read a bit about the brain and had some idea of health metrics, but this was several layers deeper than I’d gone before (both visually and technically). The platform makes it really easy to dig into whatever area you're interested in learning more about.

How do you feel about this experience of being able to interact with your own brain?

Honestly, I wish I could do it for my other organs. Medicine can feel like such a hopeless experience: describing symptoms, receiving a diagnosis, and some medicine, waiting a couple of days to see if that medicine addressed the problem. It’s really cool to get a current picture of what your brain looks like and how it’s functioning area by area.

Would you recommend others getting a brain scan, too? And if so, why?

In my opinion, the brain is the most important part of our body and one of the organs we somehow know the least about. I would encourage as many people as possible to get these scans, so we can start to close that gap with data.

You will also get your own brain printed in 3D. How do you feel about this?

100%. I cannot wait to have this on the mantle!

Carl Tharp is an active real estate investor and developer, an entrepreneur, and an advisory board member to a non-profit supporting refugee community development in Greece.

Carl spends his creative time skiing, sailing, climbing mountains, and playing guitar.