The Healthtech Podcast

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 that sit behind a decade of firsts in surgical innovation.

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.

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.

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-first health system actually looks like when you're operating at this level.

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.

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.

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.

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: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-binesmael-025b07225

Learn more about The Health Foundation: https://www.health.org.uk

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Get in touch with James: www.jamessomauroo.com

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 pay.

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.

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 thinks about adoption from day one...

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 reflects on his personal journey and the lessons learned from raising a successful son in the world of Fantasy Premier League (seriously).

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 medication adherence remains one of healthcare's billion-pound unsolved problems, and how Aide's new patient-facing scribe Mirror was born from Ian's personal experience of his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis. We also discuss Aide's white paper on building trust in AI, why pursuing Class II regulation as a startup of six people is a statement of intent, and what the Meta glasses saga tells us about the trap of adopting technology just because it's within reach.

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.

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, you can partake in NICE's horizon scanning with this form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=FNtA1T7OGE2t-3WmXoj3178lLN5iep1Aj4hJbvJXiDRUREs0Q1dVRFJTTTZHSU1HUllSSjYwVllRQS4u

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Daniel Mansson, Chief Clinical Officer and founder of Flow Neuroscience. Flow Neuroscience is Europe and UK's only medically approved brain stimulation headset and therapy app home treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Dan Jamieson, CEO and founder of Biorelate. Biorelate helps scientists solve the most difficult biomedical challenges of today. They achieve this by providing the most comprehensive knowledge graph in biopharma, enabling better knowledge review, target and biomarker discovery.

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Professor Mark Kendall, biomedical engineer, inventor, scientist, entrepreneur and business-builder with more than 25 years of experience. Mark is now CEO and Founder of WearOptimo. With a vision to shift the focus of healthcare to early identification and intervention, WearOptimo’s sensors track real-time data from the body’s biomarkers to detect conditions ranging from dehydration to heart attacks.

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Tomasz George, co-founder and CEO of Freyr Health. Freyr Health believe everyone should own, control, and benefit from their medical data. Their platform unlocks the value of fragmented health records, enabling individuals and organisations to securely manage, share, and monetise health data on their own terms. By bridging the gap between global health systems and personal data ownership, they are building a new health economy that rewards patients, accelerates research, and drives better outcomes for all.

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Steve Roest, co-founder and CEO of PocDoc. PocDocis is on a mission to transform how we detect and prevent chronic diseases—bringing diagnostics out of the lab and into the hands of the public. By combining proprietary smartphone-based blood testing with their digital health platform, PocDoc enables anyone to screen for conditions like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease—all with just a fingerprick of blood.

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Rachel Murphy, founder of The Grafter, a consultancy that helps entrepreneurs maximise the value of their businesses ahead of an exit. Rachel shares her extensive experience in building and successfully exiting healthcare companies, offering practical insights on what founders should focus on. 

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Olivia Burns, Founder of Hypoplas, a company on a mission to redesign the hospital gown to be more sustainable, dignified, and cost-effective for patients. Her mission is to drive sustainable innovation in healthcare by improving both patient care and system integration.

In this week’s episode, James is joined by Dr. James O’Donovan, Head of Research at the Community Health Impact Coalition (CHIC). CHIC is a global movement working to ensure community health workers are recognised as essential, salaried professionals. Their mission is to transform healthcare systems by scaling high-impact, community-led models and driving policy change through evidence, advocacy, and grassroots leadership.

This week, James is joined by Aashima Gupta, global director of healthcare strategy and solutions at Google Cloud. With 26 years of experience growing, differentiating, and improving businesses through technology transformation, Aashima is passionate about collaborating with and empowering companies to elevate the strategic value delivered to their ecosystem - ranging from new models for care, revenue generation, and improved patient experiences. Aashima also leads the GenAI strategy for Healthcare industry at Google Cloud by navigating the dynamic intersection of industry needs and new technologies to make healthcare more accessible. 

In the first 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.

This week, James is joined by Lara Lewington, technology broadcaster, journalist, and AI commentator. Lara has presented a variety of programmes across ITV and BBC, including fifteen years on the BBC's flagship technology show, Click. Her book 'Hacking Humanity', published in July 2025, is the ultimate guide to the tech-driven health revolution we are approaching. 

This week, James is joined by Charles Nduka, founder and CSO of Emteq, a leader in the development of wearable technology that monitors and translates human facial expressions in real-world settings. Charles is a leading facial musculature expert with over 20 years of surgical experience, including 10 years as a Consultant Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon. He has an extensive background in research and development, including clinical trials, over 100 scientific publications, and is the Medical Advisory Board chair for the charity Facial Palsy UK. 

This week, James is joined by Christoph Lippuner, CEO and co-founder of Semble, a clinically robust EHR and practice management system for private healthcare providers. Semble is on a mission to enable health professionals to amplify their impact by simplifying daily operations across scheduling, billing and reporting. 

On the final episode of the "How to Get Into Healthtech" mini-series, Dr James Somauroo and Dr Keith Grimes sit down to reflect on the series conversations and share where they would begin if starting their careers today. 

In the sixth episode of the "How to Get Into Healthtech" mini-series, Curistica's Dr Keith Grimes is joined by Dr Dave Triska, GP Partner and digital health leader. As Digital Lead for Surrey Heartlands, Dave has driven region-wide transformation projects to modernise care and improve outcomes. Dave has mentored over 100 practices through their digital journeys, bringing a rare blend of clinical insight and tech expertise to healthtech at scale.

On the fifth episode of our "How to Get Into Healthtech" mini-series, Curistica's Dr Keith Grimes is joined by Dr Josh Au Yeung. Passionate about both biological and artificial neurons, Josh is a neurology registrar at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and a clinical lead at TORTUS AI. He also hosts the Dev&Doc podcast, where he brings together doctors and developers to unlock the potential of AI in healthcare.

On the third episode of our 'First Look' series, James is joined by Joe Rowan, Chief of Staff at the Voyagers, a community based organisation that brings together people from across climate tech and healthtech to drive impact. The Voyagers have launched the UK's healthtech festival 'THE FIX' coming to Harwell Science Campus, Oxford in September 2025. 

James and Liam discuss the NHS 10-Year Plan, focusing on its core shifts towards community care, digital transformation, and preventative health. They explore the integration of AI and technology in healthcare, the challenges and critiques of the plan, and its implications for healthtech startups.

This week, James is joined by David Buller, Managing Partner at KELES, a VC firm investing in European growth-stage digital health companies. David's career spans from being a healthtech entrepreneur to leading a venture capitalist firm in digital health. With a proven track record in business building, strong investment returns, and an extensive international network, David has a unique ability to identify world-class innovations to deliver robust returns in the global market.