A Personal Journey

My vision for Medaica is deeply personal, shaped by my family’s long history of heart disease. As an entrepreneur, I’ve worked in other complex, regulated industries—but this time, I set out to improve access to affordable healthcare and save lives. I just didn’t expect that one of the first lives might be my own.

My father, Ken Randall (pictured above), lived with coronary artery disease (CAD). His father—my grandfather, Ben Randall—was one of the first patients in the UK to undergo open-heart surgery, performed by the pioneering surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard. Heart disease runs deep in our family.

In 2017, I “joined the club” and required two stents due to CAD.

Routine Checkups, Missed Clues

I’ve seen my cardiologist every six months since then. The process is always the same: a nurse weighs me, performs an EKG, and then I wait for the doctor—who is almost always rushed. He glances at my chart, tells me everything looks good, and says he’ll see me in six months. For years, I received a clean bill of health.

But I was about to learn that “routine” care can miss what matters.

When AI Heard What Humans Didn’t

After one of those checkups, I happened to be beta testing the first version of our murmur detection AI. I placed our stethoscope on my chest—and the software flagged an “abnormal” reading: a possible heart murmur.

I was skeptical. Surely my cardiologist would have noticed something if there were a real issue. I repeated the test—twice. Same result. I sent the recordings to one of our clinical advisors. He confirmed there was indeed a murmur—mild, likely not urgent, but something that warranted an ultrasound.

Then came the “aha” moment: my cardiologist had never actually listened to my heart. He relied solely on EKGs—tests that don’t detect murmurs.

From Dismissal to Diagnosis

When I went back to see him and explained what the AI had found, he was initially amused. “So your software thinks you have a murmur?” he asked, half-joking. I explained how it worked.

He paused. “Are you trying to put cardiologists out of work?”

“On the contrary,” I replied. “Wouldn’t you rather be referred patients with actual conditions, rather than filling your waiting room with people who don’t have heart disease or need stents or valves? This could make care more efficient—and more effective.”

Then, for the first time, he picked up his stethoscope and listened to my heart.

“Yes, Stephen, you have a quiet murmur. Probably early Aortic Stenosis.”

He ordered an echocardiogram. Four weeks later, the diagnosis was confirmed.

A Five-Year Head Start

Thanks to that early detection, I now have 3–5 years of lead time before this condition might progress to valvular heart disease potentially requiring valve replacement. Most people don’t get that kind of warning. Most find out too late. I know too many people who weren’t so lucky.

I also now see a different cardiologist—one who listens carefully and treats the whole patient, not just the numbers.

A Quiet Murmur, A Loud Message

That “quiet” murmur was a critical early indicator of a potentially life-threatening disease. EKGs didn’t pick it up. My cardiologist didn’t auscultate me. Many doctors wouldn’t hear it. The Medaica auscultation platform, able to detect sensitive acoustic biomarkers and extract features with AI to detect normal or abnormal sounds detected it with over 90% accuracy. That early insight has given me time—time to prepare, to monitor, and to act if things change.

Why This Matters

I never intended to become the poster child for Medaica. But my story shows what’s possible when affordable and smart technology meets need. When we listen—not just with machines, but with intention.

This is what Medaica is about: transforming healthcare by detecting conditions earlier, empowering patients, and helping clinicians focus their time where it matters most.

Early detection saved me years of uncertainty. I believe it can do the same for millions of others.