Ben Smoker

Can you tell us a little about yourself and Loquens?

I am a Speech Pathologist, who founded Loquens with the aim of building validated, fit-for-purpose communication technology for staff and patients in health, to breakdown communication barriers and improve therapy outcomes. Healingua is the first such product - a holistic communication support tool for staff to use to offer accessible care communication with any patient, regardless of barrier. No other system does this.

What inspired you to develop this product?

As a new graduate in Singapore in 2012, my first patient was a Hokkien-speaking lady who was acutely confused with a history of dementia. I needed to do a swallowing assessment, yet had no tools to explain who I was, why I was there, what I was doing. This is one of countless examples in daily care, where struggling to communicate impacts comprehension, compliance, mutual satisfaction, and care outcomes. Staff and patients deserve better technology for communication, yet since that first patient, technology is still insufficient. AI and machine translators are not up to the task. So, I have built something more robust and fit-for-purpose. 

How does Healingua uniquely address communication barriers between users and healthcare workers?

It takes seconds to set up, provides output to the client across multiple modalities, intuitive means to answer care questions, and a chat log for record keeping and accountability. It is not AI or a machine translator, so it is accurate and data-secure. It provides maximum accessibility for complex clients, is culturally appropriate, and due to its architecture, also offline-capable in case internet access is poor. It is a broad accessible communication tool, rather than translator. Any further detail would require an NDA!

How has working with IHealthE supported the progression of Loquens?

Despite working in healthcare, reaching stakeholders for potential piloting has been a challenge, due to conflict of interest and potential IP risk of exploring this in my workplace. As an unknown startup, I had a lot of difficulty contacting external health stakeholders (possibly exacerbated by the Revised Aged Care Standards coming into effect late 2025), yet such networks are critical for clinical validation, which is required for credibility and marketability in the health ecosystem. IHealthE and the Customer Discovery support provided was invaluable to help me make the right contact – thanks to this program I now have a pilot study EOI from a major provider. 

How has the support you’ve received from IHealthE compared to other support you’ve received during your journey so far?

IHealthE was the proverbial lifeline I needed to achieve what I could not do alone. Many programs out there are a bit of a general-purpose Swiss army knife of education, mentorship and introductions, but IHealthE was more of a fit-for-purpose scalpel. They targeted my exact area of need at my startup’s stage of development, and genuinely went above and beyond in doing so. I am truly grateful to IHealthE, in particular Ian Goon, for being the lifeline I needed.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Being a startup is rough. You are a small fish in a massive ocean, and it is hard to receive attention and support. Sometimes you need another entity that truly sees you, and supports you to help you reach where you otherwise cannot. The IHealthE program was this entity for me. Without its Customer Discovery support, I don’t know when I would have gotten clinical pilot interest, nor potentially recent grant success (I am an MVP Ventures Grant recipient, having received product endorsement from the IHealthE program in my application). I encourage any startup needing a specific area of support to reach out to IHealthE.