New invention automates region-of-interest placement in infrared thermal imaging while preserving clinician control

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vizbodx, Inc., a Birmingham, Alabama-based medical technology company, today announced that it has filed a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a new invention designed to automate region-of-interest (ROI) placement in infrared thermal imaging while keeping the licensed clinician at the center of the clinical workflow.

The application, titled "Clinician-Initiated Region-of-Interest Placement via Anatomical Landmark Registration in Infrared Thermal Imagery," was filed September 2, 2026 (Docket No. 586076-7) and builds directly on the company's patent-pending Clinician-First AI Clinical Workflow.

The invention addresses a longstanding workflow challenge in thermal imaging analysis: manually placing corresponding regions of interest on opposite sides of the body, or across imaging sessions, to calculate temperature differentials (ΔT). Manual placement can be time-consuming and introduce variability, while simple mirror-image reflection can be unreliable because patients are rarely positioned in perfect symmetry.

Using Vizbodx, the workflow begins with the clinician identifying a region of interest that merits further evaluation. The technology then uses anatomical landmark registration and an area-preserving transform to propose a corresponding region — on the opposite side of the body, the same side, or during a later imaging session. The clinician must confirm, adjust, or reject the proposed placement before the measurement is recorded. When appropriate, artificial intelligence may also alert the clinician to other thermal findings within the image for consideration. In each instance, the clinician remains the driver of critical thinking and clinical judgment in the evaluation of the patient.

"AI should sharpen clinical judgment, not substitute for it," said Barry Hix, Co-Founder and CEO of Vizbodx. "Our Clinician-First AI architecture is designed to automate the repetitive and time-consuming parts of the workflow while keeping the medical professional in control of the decisions that matter. This latest filing extends that principle directly into thermal image analysis."

The technology is also designed to support longitudinal tracking. Once a region is confirmed, its location can be stored relative to anatomical landmarks rather than fixed pixel coordinates, allowing the region to be reconstructed at the corresponding anatomical location in future imaging sessions despite differences in patient positioning, capture distance, or imaging equipment.

This approach enables clinicians to evaluate thermal patterns and temperature differentials over time, adding longitudinal context to what has traditionally been a point-in-time measurement and providing insight into a patient's physiological trajectory.

"The challenge is not simply automating region placement. It is making that placement anatomically consistent while accounting for the natural differences in how a person is positioned from one image to the next," said Mayco Anderson Moreira, Chief Technology Officer of Vizbodx and co-inventor. "By registering regions to anatomical landmarks, we can improve consistency across bilateral comparisons and over time while still requiring the clinician to confirm the result."

The application, prepared by Husch Blackwell, names Barry Hix and Mayco Anderson Moreira as co-inventors and is assigned to Vizbodx, Inc. It represents Vizbodx's third patent filing, following earlier applications covering the company's Clinician-First AI Clinical Workflow and Thermal Concordance Protocol.

With its third patent filing, Vizbodx continues to build an intellectual property portfolio around Clinician-First AI, an architecture designed to use artificial intelligence to improve clinical workflow, consistency, and longitudinal insight without transferring clinical judgment from the medical professional to the algorithm.

About Vizbodx

Vizbodx, Inc., a Birmingham, Alabama-based medical technology company, develops infrared thermal intelligence applications for sports and occupational medicine. Built on proprietary Clinician-First AI architecture, the Vizbodx platform visualizes, organizes, and presents thermal data, including bilateral comparisons and longitudinal trend data, for review by licensed medical professionals.

Vizbodx does not render diagnoses or clinical determinations. The platform is designed as a complementary tool to the physical examination, providing additional objective information for medical professionals evaluating athletes, workers, servicemen, and servicewomen.

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SOURCE Vizbodx Inc.

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