As a physiotherapist, economist, and someone who has studied law, I’ve always been fascinated by the intersection of medicine, technology, and policy. Startups that focus on neurological conditions, in particular, immediately catch my attention both because of their clinical impact and their potential to transform care systems. I closely follow the medical startup scene in Portugal, especially those working at the frontier of AI and digital health innovation.

Medtiles is a prime example of such a company. It has developed an AI-powered platform that significantly improves how doctors diagnose and treat patients, especially in high-stakes situations like strokes, where nearly two million neurons can be lost per minute. Their solution isn’t about replacing medical professionals but about enhancing their capabilities with technology that sees further, faster, and more consistently than the human eye.

The startup’s main product, Tutor, is a digital assistant created for physicians. It combines several key features: a curated knowledge base built from scientific literature, real-time support during clinical decision-making, and most notably, a clinical simulation environment. This allows doctors to train in interactive case studies that replicate real-world medical scenarios. It means they can sharpen their diagnostic skills without needing to test ideas on actual patients, a safer, smarter approach to continuous medical education.

What’s striking is that the AI models powering Tutor were trained on vast datasets of medical images, far more than any human could review in a lifetime. This makes the platform especially useful for analyzing complex exams like CT scans or MRIs. In fact, according to experts behind the project, the system’s precision in reading these images already exceeds that of human specialists in some contexts.

But Medtiles is not just building tools for elite hospital settings. One of their major goals is the democratization of access to medical knowledge. By integrating reliable, up-to-date AI support into accessible tools, they hope to close the knowledge gap between professionals in different regions, institutions, and stages of training. In a world where medical information doubles every few months, having a tool that keeps professionals informed and ready to act is essential.

What Medtiles is doing goes beyond innovation. For me, it represents a fundamental shift in how medical professionals can stay current, improve their skills, and deliver better care. As AI becomes more integrated into healthcare, Medtiles offers a strong example of how technology can empower rather than replace, support rather than overwhelm.

In short, this is a startup to watch not just for what it’s building today, but for the role it might play in the healthcare systems of tomorrow. Just look at what Sword Health, another Portuguese success story, has achieved in such a short time. Medtiles may well be following a similar trajectory.

Author

Paulo Lopes is a multi-talent Portuguese citizen who made his Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law at Lusófona in Lisbon - CEO of Casaiberia in Lisbon and Algarve.

Paulo Lopes