This week, James is joined by Ben Finlay, Partner at Stratt and Advisor to Ranvier.ai, to dig into why mental health is still diagnosed by questionnaire - and what a taste test, a blood biomarker and a continuum view of neurological wellness could change. Ben shares the science behind Ranvier's objective mood measurement, the journey from early intervention in depression through to staving off Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and a candid look at where pharma, policy and AI are heading next. Connect...
Jun 17, 2026•1 hr 1 min
This week, James is joined by Professor Shafi Ahmed — Consultant Surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, futurist, and author of Intelligent: The Evolution of AI Transforming Healthcare — for a candid look at what it actually takes to innovate inside a system designed to resist change. From streaming a live colectomy on Google Glass to 14,500 students in 118 countries, to walking away from 80% of his pay at the peak of his clinical career, Shafi shares the relationships, leadership and reflection ...
Jun 10, 2026•1 hr 18 min
This week, James is joined by Dr Tom Chambers, anaesthetist and Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer of Theta Sleep, to unpack why an estimated 9.2 million people in the UK are living with undiagnosed sleep apnoea. They get into why sleep medicine is so fragmented, why CPAP has an image problem, and how shifting diagnosis and treatment into the home could fix a supply-and-demand crisis the NHS isn't built for. A candid look at building a clinical business while still working as an NHS doctor. ...
Jun 03, 2026•1 hr 4 min
This week, James is joined by Dr Sujitha Selvarajah, co-founder of Hesta Health, who recently closed a £2M pre-seed round to rebuild postnatal care from the ground up. They get into why most of the women's health gap has nothing to do with reproductive health, why new mothers are abandoned at the moment their care needs spike, and what it actually takes to build healthcare that's both clinically excellent and humane. Connect with Sujitha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsujitha/ Learn more: https:...
May 27, 2026•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, James is joined by Ranjan Singh, who built HealthHero by acquiring six companies in nine months during lockdown. Now covering 35 million patients across four countries and delivering nearly five million consultations a year, it's Europe's largest digital clinic, with three consecutive outstanding CQC ratings to back up the scale. In this episode, he talks James through the acquisition-led playbook, a care coordination service that cut A&E admissions by 85%, and what an AI-fi...
May 20, 2026•1 hr 2 min
This week, James is joined by Dr Kishan Rees, Senior Director for Global Video & Digital Content Strategy at Bayer, to unpack why healthcare's communication problem is now its biggest patient-safety problem. They get into medical misinformation, why patients are turning to AI chatbots over clinicians, and what pharma can learn from broadcast journalism. Connect with Kishan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkishanrees/ Learn more about Bayer: https://www.bayer.com Apply to be a guest: www.thehea...
May 13, 2026•1 hr 8 min
This week, James is joined by Dr Tiril Elstad, medical doctor, yoga teacher, and founder and CEO of Endor Global, to explore why chronic stress may be our generation's biggest health risk - and why most wearables are making the problem worse. They get into the science of heart rate variability, the gap between data and actual behaviour change, and why the real opportunity in preventive health lies in reaching the middle 75%, not the biohacking elite. Connect with Tiril: https://www.linkedin.com/...
May 06, 2026•1 hr 11 min
This week, James is joined by Dr Clare Palmer, Director of Evidence Generation at ieso, to explore what happens when AI is purpose-built for mental health care - and why that's worlds apart from people typing their problems into ChatGPT. They discuss ieso's safety-constrained AI architecture, the striking fact that only half of people with depression or anxiety recover, and how agentic AI systems could move us towards precision mental health care at scale. Connect with Clare: https://www.linkedi...
Apr 29, 2026•53 min
This week, James is joined by Ahmed Binesmael, Senior Improvement Analyst at the Health Foundation, to dig into what the British public actually thinks about AI in healthcare - and why the people most likely to benefit from healthtech are often the most sceptical of it. They explore the Health Foundation's latest survey data on trust, the NHS app's "doctor in your pocket" function, and why meaningful public engagement is the missing piece in the UK's fragmented AI strategy. Connect with Ahmed : ...
Apr 22, 2026•1 hr 6 min
In this episode, James is joined by Robert Bunn, Founder and President of Ultrasound AI, who shares an extraordinary story - from multiple failed startups and personal tragedy to building an AI that can predict actual delivery dates from standard ultrasound images. With a De Novo FDA clearance now in hand, Robert explains how the technology works, what the AI discovered that clinicians couldn't see, and why he's committed to making it available to every woman on earth regardless of ability to pa...
Apr 15, 2026•1 hr 16 min
This week, James is joined by Dr Yath Prem, Medical Advisor at Flo Health and clinical product specialist, to talk about the growing wave of NHS doctors moving into healthtech - what's driving it, whether content creators are encouraging too many to leave, and what clinical product actually means in practice. They also dig into wearables, AI health assistants, and whether healthtech is genuinely solving problems or just adding to middle-class anxiety. Connect with Yath: https://www.linkedin.com/...
Apr 08, 2026•1 hr 1 min
This week, James is joined by Dr David Neal, Assistant Professor at Amsterdam UMC and co-lead of the eHealth Living & Learning Lab (ELLLA), for a wide-ranging chat about what happens when technology disrupts a healing ritual that hasn't fundamentally changed since the 16th century. They explore why medicine is roughly 150 years behind in understanding the role of humans in healthcare, what that means for AI-driven care, and why the most effective healthtech products still fail if nobody thin...
Apr 01, 2026•1 hr 20 min
James welcomes Declan Hadley, the healthcare lead at Cisco, who shares his extensive experience in the NHS and health informatics. The conversation explores the evolution of healthcare technology, the importance of digitisation, and the role of AI in improving patient outcomes. Declan emphasizes the need for collaboration between startups and healthcare organizations, the significance of local ownership of AI, and the challenges of ensuring safety in rapidly changing technologies. He also reflec...
Mar 25, 2026•54 min
This week, James is joined by Ian Wharton, the co-founder and CEO of Aide Health, a design-led chronic disease management platform with retention rates 20x the sector average. In this episode, Ian makes the case that design - not technology - is the missing ingredient in digital health, explaining why only 3–4% of patients stick with health apps after 30 days and what Aide does differently to hit 70% retention at three months. We get into the role of conversational AI in behaviour change, why me...
Mar 18, 2026•1 hr 10 min
This week, James is joined by Dr. Elsa Zekeng, founder of SökerData who shares the story behind building a company tackling one of healthcare’s most persistent blind spots: biased and underrepresented clinical trial data. She discusses her journey from infectious disease research and frontline outbreak response during Ebola, to advising on COVID-19 vaccine uptake, and ultimately founding SökerData to aggregate more inclusive health datasets. Connect with Elsa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-elsa...
Mar 11, 2026•1 hr 6 min
In this episode of The Healthtech Podcast, Dr James Somauroo speaks with T.N. Giridhar, Managing Director and CEO of SSG Capital, an investment banker and venture capital investor with nearly 30 years of experience spanning public markets, Goldman Sachs-level M&A and early-stage VC. Giridhar draws on a career managing over $17 billion in transactions to argue that the quality of an investment outcome is determined almost entirely by the quality of the people behind the company, not the metri...
Mar 04, 2026•1 hr 29 min
This week, James is joined by Dr Saira Ghafur, respiratory consultant, health tech leader, and Co-Founder of Prova Health. She shares her journey from medical training in Scotland to NHS consultancy, policy fellowships at NHS England and in New York, and co-founding two health tech ventures. Saira discusses the realities of scaling digital health, generating credible evidence for innovation, and the challenges of regulating AI in healthcare. Connect with Saira: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sai...
Feb 25, 2026•1 hr 10 min
In this episode of The Healthtech Podcast, we’re joined by Kang Hsu, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Canary Speech, to explore the emerging field of vocal biomarkers and what they could mean for earlier disease detection. Speech is more than language. It is airflow, vocal cord vibration, neuromuscular control and cognitive processing in motion. Subtle acoustic features such as pitch variation, jitter, shimmer and timing patterns can reflect underlying physiological and neurological change.Can those...
Feb 18, 2026•1 hr
This week, James is joined by James Mishreki, founder of Skin + Me, who shares the story behind building one of the UK’s fastest-growing personalised healthcare brands. He discussed the challenges of scaling a regulated DTC business, and how Skin + Me is tackling the dermatology access gap with clinical-grade care delivered directly to consumers.Connect with James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmishreki/ Learn more about Skin + Me: https://www.skinandme.com/ Apply to be a guest: www.thehealth...
Feb 11, 2026•1 hr 3 min
This week, James is joined by Lawrie Kidd, Consultant Anaesthetist at Gloucestershire Hospitals and Clinical Product Lead at DrDoctor, who shares a candid look at the pressures facing frontline clinicians and how healthtech can help. Connect with Lawrie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrie-kidd/ Learn more about DrDoctor: https://www.drdoctor.co.uk/ Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com Get in touch with James: www.jamessomau...
Feb 04, 2026•1 hr 16 min
This week, James is joined by Hjalmar Nilsonne, CEO and Co-Founder of Neko Health. With Hjalmar yielding the power to shape the future of healthcare, James asks all the big questions. Can Neko pull off their ambition? What will it take? What lessons have they learned along the way? What challenges lie in their way? Learn more about Neko: https://www.nekohealth.com/gb/en Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com Get in touch with...
Jan 28, 2026•1 hr 22 min
In this episode, we're joined by Tharni Vasavan, Horizon Scanning Senior Health Technology Lead at NICE, about how emerging health technologies are identified, evaluated, and prepared for the NHS. From her journey through women’s health research and startup life at Hertility to shaping national foresight on healthtech disruption, Tharni offers an inside glimpse of how innovation meets evidence. If you're working with AI that you think will be applicable in healthcare within the next 10 years, yo...
Jan 21, 2026•1 hr 1 min
This week James is joined by Jacob West, Managing Director for Healthcare and Life Sciences at Microsoft UK, who shares insights on how Microsoft is leveraging AI to enhance healthcare in the UK. Connect with Jacob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-west-a519404/ Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com This podcast was brought to you by SomX....
Jan 14, 2026•38 min
This week, James is joined on the podcast by Dr Madeleine Ballard, CEO of the Community Health Impact Coalition (CHIC). CHIC is a global movement making professional community health workers the norm worldwide by changing guidelines, funding, and policy. Connect with Madeleine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleineballard/ Learn more about CHIC: https://joinchic.org/ Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.com Get in touch with Ja...
Jan 07, 2026•1 hr 16 min
James is joined by Rafaël Michali, co-founder and co-CEO of SAVA. SAVA is redefining the way people interact with their health by developing the most advanced biosensing technology science has to offer, capable of accessing bodily information in a painless, real-time and affordable way. Connect with Rafaël: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafa%C3%ABl-michali-656136101/ Learn more: https://www.sava.health/ Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.health...
Dec 17, 2025•1 hr 6 min
This week, James is joined on the podcast by Sam Winward, co-founder and CEO of Pastel Health. Pastel Health is an end-to-end outpatient clinic that supports Chronic pain sufferers referred from the NHS. The service aims to transform the experience for both patients and clinicians. Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelwinward/ Learn more about Pastel: https://pastel-health.com/ Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeo...
Dec 10, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In the second episode of this two-part series, James is joined by Dr. Ross Harper, CEO and co-founder of Limbic. Limbic is developing clinical-grade AI tools for mental health care, designed to be deployed in clinical settings. Their goal is to enhance the capacity of trained professionals and help meet the overwhelming demand for mental health services. Listen to Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7wTwZ1SjfFsjy4IKkcOIzE Connect with Ross: https://www.linkedin.com/in/refharper/ Learn more:...
Dec 03, 2025•41 min
In this week’s episode, James is joined by Oscar Ferguson, co-founder of Deaku. Oscar is a doctor-turned-founder and award-winning creator and content strategist on a mission to make every creator’s life better. Deaku are building a connected workspace where creators, marketers, and production teams plan, collaborate, and grow - all in one place. Connect with Oscar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-oscar-ferguson/ Learn more: https://www.deaku.app/home Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast...
Nov 26, 2025•1 hr 30 min
Hannah Madan joins us to share a rollercoaster journey of co-founding Prima Mente— an AI-driven neuroscience company building foundations models for the brain. This episode is packed with thought-provoking insights, including: — The biological hypothesis behind Prima Mente that "No one believed was true" — How Hannah made it by doing "just enough", not by being a top student — A baptism by fire— landing her first role as Chief of Staff and flying out for a YC launch party on her 25th birthday — ...
Nov 21, 2025•1 hr 8 min
This week, James is joined by Dr. Declan Kelly, founder of Eolas Medical, a platform tackling one of healthcare’s most overlooked problems: knowledge management. Eolas Medical helps clinicians access the right information instantly at the point of care. Used by NHS Trusts, clinical teams, and individual practitioners, the platform consolidates essential medical knowledge from trusted sources—guidelines, protocols, and internal documents—into one simple, intuitive system. Connect with Declan: htt...
Nov 12, 2025•1 hr 11 min
