Episode Summary:

Risk Never Sleeps Podcast

Episode #163: From Stroke Care to AI: How Technology Can Reach Everyone
Guest: Dr. Junaid Kalia, Founder & CEO of SaveLife.AI
Host: Ed Gaudet
Date: December 15, 2025

Overview

This episode, recorded live at the AI Med25 conference in San Diego, features a dynamic conversation with Dr. Junaid Kalia, neurologist and founder/CEO of SaveLife.AI, a company delivering AI-powered, edge-deployed radiology solutions designed to make advanced stroke care and other imaging technologies accessible—even in low-resource and rural settings. Host Ed Gaudet (joined briefly by Saul, another panelist) explores the challenges, opportunities, and realities of using next-generation technology to protect patient safety at the point of care.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mission Behind SaveLife.AI

• Company Purpose:
  • SaveLife.AI’s name is inspired by the idea: "if you save a life, it is as if you save the life of all mankind." Their technology makes AI radiology accessible and affordable, especially in low-resource environments (00:56).
  • AI solutions are deployed at the point of imaging (e.g., at portable X-ray or mammography machines), enhancing privacy, reducing resource needs, and enabling instant diagnostics even where specialists are scarce (00:56–01:49).

    "What I'm saying is that the idea behind the company was to make AI accessible, affordable and therefore saving lives." — Junaid Kalia (01:36)

2. Solving Global Stroke Care and Diagnostic Inequity

• Inspiration from Personal Experience:
  • Dr. Kalia's origins in Pakistan and India shaped his focus on solutions for settings with limited radiology capabilities.
• Relevance of Generic Stroke Treatments:
  • The clot-busting drug tPA is now much cheaper since going off-patent, but timely access to diagnosis (via CT scans/imaging) is still a barrier globally (01:53–03:50).
  • Portable imaging is improving, but there's a severe global shortage of radiologists, e.g., “500 radiologists in Dallas; less than 500 in all of Africa” (03:55–04:38).

    "Imaging is going insane because the cost of imaging devices is going down significantly... there are 500 radiologists in the city of Dallas. In the whole North African... continent of Africa, there's less than 500 radiologists." — Junaid Kalia (04:13–04:38)

3. Key Takeaways from AI Med25

• Three Pillars of the Conference:

  1. Building impactful networks (not just for financial gain, but real clinical and operational partnerships) (04:57–06:02).
  2. Gaining insights into real-world clinical and non-clinical pain points faced by healthcare systems and identifying new verticals for business (04:57–06:09).
  3. Meeting high-quality partners who can help startups handle regulatory, security, and workflow burdens (FDA, HITRUST, etc.) (05:00–06:09).

  "You also find really good partners... that can take off the load of your startup." — Junaid Kalia (05:54)

• Trust & 'Sandboxing' AI:

  • Hospitals want ways to test, validate, and build trust in new AI tools using their own data, not just published studies (06:23–07:11).

4. US Market Progress

• SaveLife.AI is already piloted in several imaging centers and a hospital in Dallas, Texas, with plans for more installations (07:17–07:30).

5. Lessons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Startup Training:
  • Dr. Kalia worked as VP of Clinical Strategy at another startup—critical training before founding his own (07:33–08:16).
  • Founders need to play many roles, then strategically build a team (“octopus” analogy) (07:57–08:19).

6. Panel Participation and Community Learning

• The episode highlights the mutually beneficial learning among panelists and peers at the conference (08:24–08:58).

7. Lightning Round: Personal and Professional Reflections

• Riskiest Thing Ever Done:

  "Marrying." — Junaid Kalia (09:06) "You select an individual for the rest of your life, right?" — Junaid Kalia (09:13)

  • Both guest and host reflect on the importance of life partners in entrepreneurial journeys (09:13–09:40).

• Advice to 20-year-old Self: (10:17–11:06)

  • Patience is critical (“for the patient, doctor, and founder”)

  • Stay humble: Transitioning from clinical leadership to startup felt like starting “as nobody”—a complete relearning.

  • Be generous with advisors/consultants, who provide ‘soft ROI’ and value that isn’t always immediately measurable.

    "Be generous to your advisors, consultants... they may not bring direct value in terms of ROIs, but they bring what we call soft ROI." — Junaid Kalia (10:57)

8. The Future of Stroke Care & AI

• EpiPen for Stroke?:
  • Universal, at-home stroke treatment remains elusive—IV prep and brain imaging are prerequisites due to the necessity to distinguish between bleeding and blockage before administering tPA (03:33–03:37, 12:13–12:40).

    "12% of the time is because of a bleeding in the brain... 88%... due to blockage... symptoms are similar." — Junaid Kalia (12:21–12:36)

  • Host and guests reflect on personal losses due to stroke and the urgent need for faster, accessible diagnosis and intervention (12:59–13:08).

Memorable Quotes

• "If you save a life, it is as if you save a life of all mankind." — Junaid Kalia (00:56)
• "Imaging is going insane because of the cost... going down significantly." — Junaid Kalia (04:13)
• "As a founder, you're basically an octopus ... you actually cut off these arms and then build literally your whole team." — Junaid Kalia (07:57)

Notable Timestamps

• 00:56–01:46 — Dr. Kalia describes his company's mission, edge AI deployment, and global accessibility.
• 03:55–04:38 — The global shortage of radiologists and the need for AI solutions.
• 04:57–06:09 — Key takeaways from AI Med25: networking, pain points, new business verticals, and quality partnerships.
• 07:17–07:30 — Early US adoption and next steps for SaveLife.AI.
• 09:06 — Riskiest life decision: marriage.
• 10:17–11:06 — Three pieces of wisdom for younger self (patience, humility, generosity).
• 12:13–12:40 — Challenges and hope for stroke care akin to an EpiPen.

Tone & Style

The episode is candid and collegial, blending humor, humility, and deep professional knowledge. Dr. Kalia’s insights are both global and practical, while the hosts keep the energy supportive and focused on learning.

Conclusion

This episode offers an in-depth look at how edge AI, clinical empathy, and collaborative risk management can revolutionize stroke care and diagnostic access worldwide—especially in underserved settings. Through Dr. Kalia’s journey and SaveLife.AI’s innovations, listeners gain both technical insights and timeless entrepreneurial wisdom.