Send us a Message

This episode takes MedTech 101 to Nairobi for the first time. I sit down with Derek Ngokonyo, managing director of ThatcherX, the Kenyan drone operator using hybrid VTOL aircraft to move blood samples and medical supplies across some of the country's hardest to reach regions. What started as on the ground blood donation advocacy through the Kenyan by Blood Foundation grew into a partnership with Arizona based Good Drone Company and a fleet of ten Malaika drones covering up to 1,000 kilometers on a single flight. We get into the real cost of running a drone program, the two year fight for a Kenya Civil Aviation Authority license, and why ThatcherX draws a hard line between humanitarian cargo and anything that looks like a security threat. If you want to understand how Africa is building its own answer to Zipline, this one is for you.

Timestamps

00:00 Cold open: the vision behind ThatcherX
00:37 Welcome back to MedTech 101, first episode recorded in Africa
01:01 Meet Derek Ngokonyo and ThatcherX
03:46 From an IT degree to the Kenyan by Blood Foundation
05:39 The access problem: floods, insecurity and 100km gaps
07:08 The case that sparked the pivot to drones
09:56 Zipline's $600M raise and what it means for the region
10:45 Inside Malaika: five rotors, VTOL and hybrid propulsion
13:08 Range, payload and reverse logistics
16:01 The Good Drone Company partnership and deal structure
20:14 What one drone actually costs
22:56 Training Kenya's first drone pilots
25:51 Funding, adoption and the two year licensing gauntlet
29:39 Ten drones, a new raise and local manufacturing plans
32:00 Weather, terrain and scaling payload to 150kg
34:50 The future of medical drone delivery in Kenya
41:06 Beyond healthcare: tea, radiopharma and e-commerce
42:32 Drawing the line: humanitarian use only
45:26 Closing thoughts

Website: https://thatcherx.com/

Support the show

Follow or Connect with Rodney Moses:
Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube |

Donations
Patreon | PayPal

Send us a Message

What if you could monitor your blood glucose levels in 10 seconds, no needles, no blood, just a simple saliva test that looks like a lipstick? In this episode, Rod sits down with Luc Pierart, co-founder of LipsTech and a 30-year veteran of medical technology with over 50 patents to his name. Luc shares how his team has cracked a problem that scientists have been trying to solve since 1941, achieving 98% accuracy in a clinical trial of 180 type 2 diabetic patients using a combination of nanocarbon sensors and AI. We cover the competitive landscape, why big players like Apple and Samsung have failed at non-invasive glucose monitoring, how LipsTech is priced to reach patients in Africa and beyond, and what the regulatory road to market looks like. If you think painless, affordable glucose monitoring is still in the future, this episode will change your mind.

Timestamped Summary

[00:00] Luc opens with the headline clinical result, 98% accuracy across 180 type 2 diabetic patients, two 10-second daily tests, weekly A1C scoring and meal education feedback.

[01:39] Rod introduces the episode from Paris and frames the concept: glucose monitoring via saliva.

[03:06] Luc's background: 30+ years in product development, 50+ patents, 12 products launched, early Airpod-like tech, PK Vitality wearable CGM acquired by Withings. LipsTech born from unmet T2D need.

[05:32] IP and technology carryover, patents sold with PK Vitality; standard biochemical CGM sensor tech adapted into a novel saliva format.

[06:53] What LipsTech is in plain English, lipstick-shaped device, rub inner lips, result in 30 seconds.

[08:01] Competitive landscape: BGM finger prick (63% market share), CGM patch (€100+/month), implantables, and failed non-invasive attempts by Apple, Samsung and Google.

[11:07] Pricing: reader $49, consumable $49 for 60 reuses, roughly 4x cheaper than CGM. Reusability was the key engineering breakthrough.

[12:32] Africa distribution: strong clinician interest at SFD Lyon, blood handling concerns and CGM cost make LipsTech a natural fit for African markets.

[14:12] Fundraising: seed round targeting $2M, lab prototype to commercial product, 2027 launch target, angels over VCs, round open until end of 2025.

[17:20] Manufacturing: reader in Eastern Europe, sensor pre-series in UK then internalised to France.

[18:01] Regulatory pathway: 2027 wellness launch first, IVD Class B/Class 2 medical certification ~2 years later, FDA Q-Sub meeting planned.

[20:54] How the science works: nanocarbon sensors plus AI to overcome the ~100x lower glucose concentration in saliva vs. blood. Problem attempted since 1941, 10 patents filed.

[23:49] Future vision: multi-sensor lipstick covering glucose, cholesterol, hormones and oral cancer markers. Full home health checkup in one device within 10 years.

Support the show

Follow or Connect with Rodney Moses:
Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube |

Donations
Patreon | PayPal

Send us a Message

What if diagnosing depression was as simple as a 15-minute brain scan, no questionnaires, no guesswork, just objective data?

That's exactly what Lucas Scherdel and his team at Connectome Health are building.

In this episode, Lucas breaks down how their TD-fNIRS technology reads brain activity non-invasively using near-infrared light, how AI turns that raw signal into stable biomarkers, and why the absence of any objective brain test for mental health conditions is one of the most under-discussed problems in medicine today.

We also get into the regulatory and investor catch-22 that slows MedTech innovationand Lucas's vision for a world where brain health checks are as routine as visiting the optician.

If you work in MedTech, digital health, neuroscience, or you're just curious about where mental healthcare is headed, this one is worth your time.

Timestamp:

00:00 – Opening hook: Lucas's vision for mainstream brain sensing

01:33 – Rod's intro and welcome

02:29 – What is Connectome Health?

02:58 – Lucas's background: biomedical sciences, Bayer, WHO

06:48 – How Lucas ended up founding Connectome

10:34 – What does "Connectome" mean?

11:00 – TD-fNIRS explained in layman's terms

12:50 – Why scalable brain measurement has been so hard

16:14 – What does the hardware actually look like?

17:38 – Brain-computer interfaces and the future of prosthetics

19:08 – Challenges: regulatory, manufacturing, scaling

19:37 – Connectome as a software company (platform dependency risk)

22:24 – The inference application layer

23:20 – Business model explained: B2B research tools → future B2C

24:48 – Regulatory landscape and reception from the scientific community

25:17 – Imperial College London healthy population study

26:16 – The investor-regulator catch-22 in MedTech

27:44 – First product: functional brain performance testing

29:34 – Where is mental health tracking headed in 10–15 years?

31:57 – Wrap-up and how to find Lucas (connectome.health / LinkedIn)

Support the show

Follow or Connect with Rodney Moses:
Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube |

Donations
Patreon | PayPal