AI Beyond the Lab: MediCapture Unlocks Point-of-Care Vision AI

CHEROKEE, Texas – January 15, 2026 – Medical imaging leader MediCapture Inc. today announced the launch of aiScope™, a groundbreaking software platform that embeds real-time artificial intelligence directly onto its medical imaging recorders. The technology, which promises to make advanced Vision AI more accessible and practical, will make its debut in the veterinary sciences, with live demonstrations taking place at the VMX 2026 conference in Orlando.

By running complex AI models locally on its MTR and MVR imaging systems, MediCapture aims to solve what many in the industry call the "last-mile problem," a persistent set of challenges that has kept many promising AI models confined to research labs and prevented their widespread adoption in real-world clinical environments. This move signals a significant shift toward decentralized, "edge" computing in medical technology, potentially democratizing powerful diagnostic tools for practitioners everywhere.

Tackling the 'Last-Mile Problem' in Medical AI

For years, the potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize medical diagnostics has been a major topic of discussion, but its practical implementation has been hindered by significant logistical and technical hurdles. The "last-mile problem" refers to the difficulty of deploying AI models from a controlled research setting into the dynamic, demanding, and highly regulated environment of clinical practice. Traditionally, using advanced AI for image analysis required substantial infrastructure, including powerful external PCs, specialized GPUs, and high-speed, stable connections to cloud servers for processing.

These requirements create barriers related to cost, complexity, and latency. The delay caused by sending large imaging files to the cloud and waiting for a response can be unacceptable in a time-sensitive surgical or diagnostic setting. Furthermore, transmitting sensitive patient data to external servers raises significant data privacy and security concerns, complicating compliance with regulations like HIPAA.

MediCapture's aiScope™ is engineered to dismantle these barriers. "By embedding AI Vision at the point of care, aiScope™ solves the long-standing 'last-mile problem' that has prevented many research AI models from being used in real-world clinical and teaching environments," says Bernd Jotzat, Senior Product Manager at MediCapture.

The platform processes video and images in real-time directly on the medically certified hardware, eliminating the need for any external computing resources in the operating room or in the field. This local processing ensures instantaneous analysis and feedback, enhances data security by keeping information on the device, and allows the system to function reliably even in locations with poor or no internet connectivity.

A New Era for Veterinary Medicine and Research

In a strategic first move, MediCapture is launching its initial aiScope™ pilot program within veterinary science. This choice is far from random; it is a calculated decision based on the vast and complex opportunities the field presents. As MediCapture President and CEO Michael Bishop explained, "Veterinary medicine spans more than 65,000 vertebrate species. That's where science begins. That's how discovery accelerates. aiScope™ is portable, allowing us to bring AI-driven imaging to every corner of the earth."

The impact on veterinary diagnostics, education, and research is poised to be immediate and transformative. For clinicians, the software's ability to perform real-time object detection and image classification can serve as a powerful assistive tool, potentially improving the speed and accuracy of diagnoses across an enormous variety of animal species.

The technology will also be a cornerstone of MediCapture's VUEES™ (Veterinary Ultrasound and Endoscopy Education Systems). Both the University Edition and the portable VUEES™ Mobility platforms will feature aiScope™, offering students and trainees an unprecedented opportunity to learn with AI-enhanced imaging. The system can provide real-time feedback and analysis during procedures, fundamentally changing how diagnostic imaging is taught.

Furthermore, the system's extreme portability—the MTR device with aiScope™ fits into a carry-on case and can operate for over eight hours on a standard power bank—opens up new possibilities for field veterinarians working in remote or challenging environments. This mobility brings advanced diagnostic capabilities directly to the animal, whether on a farm or in a remote conservation area. For researchers, aiScope™ functions as a powerful data collection engine. It can automatically generate bounding boxes and labels on captured images, a process that is critical for training new AI models but is often tedious and time-consuming. MediCapture plans to extend its pilot into data collection programs with veterinary universities and research centers for the remainder of 2026, helping to build the vast, annotated datasets needed to push the boundaries of animal health.

Open Architecture and Technical Innovation

At its core, aiScope™ is built on a philosophy of openness and versatility. The platform is vendor-neutral, meaning it is designed to work with a wide range of endoscopic, microscopic, and surgical camera systems, not just those from a single manufacturer. This prevents vendor lock-in and gives hospitals and clinics the flexibility to integrate AI without overhauling their existing imaging equipment.

This commitment to openness extends to the AI models themselves. The software supports open-source models, allowing for the training, conversion, and deployment of publicly available algorithms. It also enables the integration of community-developed models, fostering a collaborative ecosystem where researchers and clinicians can share and build upon each other's work. This approach could significantly accelerate innovation, allowing for the rapid development of specialized models for rare diseases or specific animal species.

Technically, the system is designed for efficiency and ease of use. It turns any connected surgical camera into an intelligent data capture device. Using custom models, it analyzes the incoming video feed and can automatically identify and label anatomical structures or anomalies. The company has also announced that future updates will include auto-annotation and pre-annotated exports, features that promise to drastically cut the time and effort required for manual data review and labeling in research settings.

The Path to Human Healthcare

While the initial focus is on the veterinary market, MediCapture's deep roots in human medical imaging suggest a clear long-term strategy. The company is already a global leader in medical-grade video recorders for surgery, endoscopy, and ultrasound in human healthcare, with its devices being marketed by some of the world's largest medical equipment manufacturers. The veterinary pilot serves as an ideal proving ground to refine the technology in a complex biological domain with a less burdensome regulatory pathway.

The transition of aiScope™ into human medical applications, however, will require navigating a much more stringent and complex regulatory landscape. In the United States, such a technology would likely be classified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as Software as a Medical Device (SaMD). The FDA has a specific regulatory framework for AI/ML-based software, which requires manufacturers to provide a "predetermined change control plan" detailing how the AI model will be updated, validated, and monitored throughout its entire product lifecycle.

Achieving FDA clearance or a CE Mark in Europe will demand extensive clinical validation to prove the software's safety and efficacy for specific diagnostic or surgical support claims. This involves rigorous clinical trials, robust data collection to mitigate potential biases in AI algorithms, and ensuring the system performs reliably across diverse patient populations. Moreover, regulators are increasingly focused on the transparency and "explainability" of AI, requiring that clinicians can understand, to some degree, how the AI arrived at its conclusions.

Cybersecurity will also be a critical hurdle, as the embedded AI models represent valuable intellectual property and a potential target for tampering. Despite these challenges, MediCapture's long-standing experience with medical device certification, including its ISO 13485:2016 quality management system, provides a solid foundation for this future journey. The launch of aiScope™ is a definitive step toward a future where intelligent, real-time diagnostic support is a standard, integrated part of the medical toolkit.