We caught up with Declan Watters to learn more about his innovative and powerful tech for good medical app that he has developed.

Declan Watters, MediSnap

Who are we talking to, is it a logical journey to what you do now?

I'm Declan Watters, a practicing paramedic and co-founder of MediSnap. The journey makes complete sense when you look back, though I didn't plan it this way.

I started in pharmacy at age 14, working under Jim McCormick at Magees Pharmacy in Letterkenny. Spent 22 years in pharmaceutical retail, progressing through Cara Pharmacy Group, learning everything about medications - from otc, brand, generic and trade along with dispensing and wholesale operations. Then I moved into paramedicine about six years ago, completing my BSc (Hons) in Paramedic Science from UCC this year.

I also have a BSc in Computer Science from LYIT back in 2005, which I honestly thought I'd never use professionally. Turns out, having pharmacy knowledge, emergency medicine experience, and computing skills is the exact combination needed to build MediSnap.

The platform exists because I live this problem daily. When you meet someone in an emergency situation and they can't tell you what medications they're on - unconscious patients, confused elderly people, language barriers, flustered family members- you're making critical decisions with incomplete information. we built the tool I needed without actually knowing what we had.

What are you currently working on?

MediSnap - an AI-powered medication identification platform for healthcare professionals. You photograph medication packaging, prescriptions,bottle, handwritten or blister packs, and within 3-5 seconds you get instant identification plus critical drug interaction alerts. Rapidly painting a picture and allowing the medical professional to move ahead with treatment and cuts minutes googling medications, we cant know them all!

We've just launched on Google Play Store, with iOS coming shortly. The platform supports multiple languages - English, Irish, Ukrainian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish - because language barriers are a massive issue in emergency healthcare. Especially the Cyrillic alphabet recognition, it read Ukrainian language and packaging.

Right now we are managing rapid growth whilst preparing for regulatory approval through HPRA (Health Products Regulatory Authority). We've gone from company registration in October to 352 registered healthcare professionals using it operationally in emergency situations. We've had nearly 100,000 website hits and over 3,500 people checking out the platform. That's all organic growth - healthcare workers telling their colleagues about it. We dont have marketing or a budget.

I'm also in conversations with Enterprise Ireland for seed funding, and we've got national media coverage coming. It's been a whirlwind few weeks.

How long did it take you to build up the app, and how has it evolved over time?

From company registration to live product took about six weeks. We launched the beta in late October 2025, and we've just gone commercial on Android. It was built on a shoestring budget whilst working full-time as a paramedic - evenings, nights, weekends. But we have been developing this this for the best part of 2025.

I should mention - I have a silent partner, my Co-Founder and CTO, who handles all the technical development. We've been best mates since childhood, so working together just clicks. A lot of the best decisions happen over a pint or on the phone late at night, talking through problems. He prefers to stay out of the spotlight, but I couldn't have built this without him. Having someone you trust completely makes the hard days manageable.

We compiled the proprietary medication database using my 22 years of pharmaceutical knowledge, designed the clinical workflows based on what I actually need in the field, and handled all the testing with colleagues. My co-founder built the platform architecture and makes sure everything actually works tech...