Brazilian technology aims to reduce time required to analyze medical images
For a radiologist who must review dozens of studies every day, not all exams necessarily require the same level of urgency. The challenge lies in identifying which ones might reveal an anomaly before the doctor gets a chance to review them.
That is one of the applications that Pixeon, a Brazilian healthcare technology company, is developing using artificial intelligence. The company works with medical imaging software and information systems for clinics and laboratories, and is now using AI to prioritize studies that may require faster review.
“A radiologist has to produce 80 to 100 reports a day, but they don’t know which diagnoses are problematic and which aren’t,” explains co-founder and co-CEO Iomani Engelmann during the Startup Summit 2026. Pixeon’s tool, he added, does not aim to make the diagnosis itself, but rather to identify which test shows something unusual and warrants closer attention.
The market opportunity for this type of technology is growing in Latin America. According to Grand View Research, the regional market for artificial intelligence applied to medical imaging generated US$92.1 million in 2025 and could reach US$980.2 million by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 34.5%.
From Brazil to Argentina and Now Colombia
Pixeon was founded in Florianópolis and currently has around 3,000 clients in Brazil, in addition to operations in other Latin American markets. Its first international venture began in Argentina in 2010, a market the company also used as a test bed to adapt its operations outside of Brazil.
This expansion required adjustments that went beyond language. Manuals, operational processes, quality standards, and regulatory requirements all had to be adapted to the Argentine market. Currently, Pixeon operates there through a distributor, NetMed.
Colombia is now one of the next markets the company is considering. Engelmann highlights the hospital infrastructure and the quality of some of the country’s medical centers, but he also identifies a specific barrier: regulation.
While in Argentina Pixeon must comply with ANMAT requirements, in Colombia it needs to navigate the processes established by INVIMA, the country’s health authority.
“The barriers in the healthcare sector are very significant when it comes to regulatory aspects. There’s a lot of red tape,” noted Engelmann. For a company that develops software with medical imaging capabilities, the same product may require different regulatory processes in each market.
The structure of the healthcare system also shapes the business strategy. According to the founder, Argentina’s system operates more like Brazil’s, with a clearer separation between the public and private sectors. Colombia, on the other hand, features greater government involvement in the system’s structure and funding—a factor the company must consider before entering the market.
In Argentina, Pixeon currently works primarily with the private sector—a decision also tied to the economic situation and lower levels of public investment in healthcare in recent years.
AI as a layer above medical images
This international expansion is taking place as Pixeon broadens the use of AI within its platform. The goal is not to replace physicians, but to help them manage a growing volume of information.
In the case of radiology, the technology can function as a first layer of prioritization: it analyzes the studies and flags those that exhibit unusual characteristics so that the specialist can review them first.
“This is an area we’re working on to improve the quality of diagnosis, because in healthcare, time can often mean the difference between life and death,” says Engelmann.
The trend is spreading across the regional market. Grand View Research estimates that the Latin American market for AI applied to radiology reached US$341 million in 2025 and could reach US$4.71 billion in 2033, with an annual growth rate of 38.9%. The software and platforms segment is also projected to see the highest growth.
For Pixeon, the challenge is to integrate this technology with the systems already in use at clinics, hospitals, and laboratories.
Florianópolis as a technology hub
The company also maintains its operations center in Florianópolis, a city that in recent years has made technology one of the main drivers of its economy.
Engelmann, who also served as president of ACATE, believes that Santa Catarina’s advantage lies not only in its capital. The state has distinct industrial hubs—metalworking in the north, agribusiness in the west—and the technology ecosystem seeks to bring startups closer to these industries.
“The association’s strategy is based on the fact that Santa Catarina today has diverse industries. ACATE’s main focus is to enable startups to compete effectively and innovate in close proximity to producers,” he explained.
Technology already accounts for 25% of Florianópolis’s GDP, with revenue of R$12 billion (US$2.33 billion) in 2023, according to data from the Florianópolis Innovation Network. At the state level, the technology sector generated revenue of R$42.5 billion (US$8.25 billion) in 2024, an 11% increase over the previous year, according to the ACATE Observatory.
For Engelmann, the growth of technology also has an economic impact: it creates higher-skilled jobs in a state with limited capacity to develop industries that require large tracts of land.
Pixeon is attempting to apply that same logic outside of Brazil. Argentina was the first market to test its international expansion; Colombia now appears as an opportunity that requires overcoming new regulatory and trade barriers.
Meanwhile, the company continues to build on one of the most visible transformations in digital health: moving from simply storing medical images to using that data to help determine what a doctor should look at first.