How AI is shaping medical innovation champions

Artificial intelligence (AI), which not long ago seemed far removed from doctors’ offices, now leads real advances in caring for people. Proof of this is the 2025 edition of the Medical Innovation Champions, a competition run by VEJA Saúde magazine, which awarded two initiatives directly connected to the use of AI.

AI has already become a vital resource for diagnosis, monitoring and the efficiency of care and patient services. The concrete results are shorter treatment times, more people reached and new genetic discoveries, among others.

Remote diagnosis with AI: seeing further

One of the highlights of the awards was the project from the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), which won the Diagnostic Technologies category. The researchers created an intelligent system for screening diabetic retinopathy, one of the leading causes of preventable blindness in the world.

Using portable retinal cameras, images of the eyes are automatically sent to the cloud, where AI algorithms triage the suspected cases.

The impact is impressive: the average time between the exam and the start of treatment fell from 20 to 9 days, expanding the reach and speed of diagnosis in regions with few ophthalmologists. This represents an improvement in access and efficiency, two pillars of preventive medicine.

Smart cardiac monitoring

The winner in the Category AI in healthcare transformation category was the Heart Institute (InCor), affiliated with the University of São Paulo. The institution developed a protocol that combines smartwatches, predictive algorithms and electronic medical records to follow patients after heart surgery.

The data collected in real time (such as heart rhythm and activity level) are automatically analyzed by intelligent systems that identify early signs of arrhythmias and postoperative complications.

This integration between wearables (technology devices worn on the body) and clinical AI turns medical follow-up into a continuous, personalized process, reducing hospital readmissions and saving lives.

Other healthcare innovations

In addition to these two initiatives that make direct use of AI, the award also recognized projects that show other fronts of medical innovation in the country:

3D printing for the fetal heart (PUC‑Rio)

The use of three-dimensional models of fetal hearts with malformations to help pregnant women and medical teams understand the diagnosis. The initiative humanizes prenatal care and strengthens the bond between families and healthcare professionals.

The genetics of longevity (USP)

Research on the genomes of healthy centenarians to identify genetic factors linked to longevity. The findings may guide new strategies for prevention and healthy aging.

CAR-T cell therapies (Camargo Cancer Center)

Development of a technique to prevent the “exhaustion” of CAR-T cells, used in cancer treatments. The advance allows the cells to maintain greater potency and longevity in fighting tumors.

Digital health education (FMUSP Santos)

An interactive platform with videos, games and 3D models focused on disease prevention in schools and communities. The project has already reached about 30,000 people, promoting health education in an accessible way.

River-based healthcare in the Amazon (NGO Zoé)

The use of hospital boats providing medical and surgical care to isolated riverside and Indigenous communities. Over 35 expeditions, it has already benefited more than 15,000 people, expanding access to primary healthcare in Brazil’s North region.

These examples show that innovation is not restricted to large cities or cutting-edge laboratories. It emerges wherever technology meets creativity, empathy and a drive for transformation, in the service of human care.

The future of AI in Brazilian healthcare

The 2025 Medical Innovation Champions reinforce the fact that AI does not replace the human eye, but amplifies it.

From algorithms that see what the human eye cannot to systems that learn from every heartbeat, artificial intelligence is helping build a faster, more preventive and more equitable health system, both in medicine and in hospital management, as proposed by Rivio.

If medical innovation once seemed far removed from Brazilian reality, today it is already in outpatient clinics, on the rivers of the Amazon, on the wrist devices of thousands of patients and in the operational spheres of hospitals and clinics, supporting the management cycle.

In this scenario, AI is the instrument that makes it possible to do more, better and for more people,becoming a powerful ally for smarter, more human and more accessible medicine.