Interview with Andy Aguilar Robles, CEO of AI LABS GROUP SL:
Founded in 2020, the technology-based research company AI LABS GROUP SL has established itself as a leading innovator in the healthcare sector thanks to Legit.Health, a groundbreaking medical device that is transforming dermatology. Supported by CDTI Innovación and the European Recovery and Resilience Facility (MRR), this clinical artificial intelligence solution analyzes images captured with a smartphone to assist diagnosis, assess disease severity, and monitor hundreds of skin conditions, fundamentally changing the way physicians and patients interact.
The company was created to address a clear unmet need in healthcare that conventional systems had failed to solve: long waiting lists and the widespread difficulty of accessing dermatology appointments. "Founding the company was an act of conviction. What began as a concern became a mission once we realized that the shortage of dermatologists is a global challenge and that, in many regions of Spain, patients can wait months for an appointment," explains Andy Aguilar Robles, the company's CEO.
The origins of Legit.Health are also closely linked to Aguilar Robles' personal experience. As a chronic dermatology patient, she experienced firsthand the lack of objective tools for monitoring her condition. With this challenge in mind, the company was built by bringing together five complementary perspectives: the patient, the AI scientist, the product technologist, the engineer, and the dermatologist. "That diversity, combined with a shared mission, enabled us to transform an idea into a real, scalable solution with clinical rigor from day one," she says.
Visual innovation for precision dermatology
Legit.Health's success in dermatology stems from its fundamentally visual approach, which enables remote assessment of skin conditions. "Where diagnosis once relied heavily on subjective interpretation, artificial intelligence provides objective and reproducible measurements," Aguilar Robles explains.
The impact is particularly significant in diseases such as melanoma, where early detection is critical. "For conditions such as melanoma, every month of delay can significantly reduce survival rates," she notes, emphasizing that the technology is not designed to replace physicians, but to support them by ensuring that the most serious cases are identified and treated as early as possible.
Legit.Health functions as an intelligent clinical assistant, placing AI at the service of healthcare professionals to accelerate clinical decision-making using nothing more than a smartphone image. Once a photograph of a skin lesion is captured, the platform performs three key functions that support everyday clinical practice. First, it identifies visual signs associated with more than 300 skin diseases and provides diagnostic guidance. It then continuously monitors patients by objectively and consistently measuring lesion severity over time. Finally, this automated analysis helps clinicians prioritize the most urgent cases, improving waiting-list management and optimizing the allocation of healthcare resources.
According to Aguilar Robles, the platform's greatest competitive advantage lies in its scientific rigor and regulatory compliance. "We do far more than classify images. We quantify disease severity and progression, which is what clinicians truly need. From the outset, we developed Legit.Health as a medical device, meeting the clinical validation and regulatory standards required under the European CE marking framework," she concludes.
Technical challenges and seamless integration
Developing highly sophisticated medical AI algorithms involves major infrastructure challenges. The first is access to reliable data, requiring vast volumes of high-quality clinical images that are accurately annotated by specialists and representative of the full range of skin tones to minimize bias. This is coupled with the need for significant computing power and the stringent requirements of the regulatory environment, which demand that every algorithmic decision be scientifically documented and validated. "The bar is extremely high, but that's exactly the standard medicine deserves," says Aguilar Robles.
Despite its technical sophistication, the user experience is remarkably simple thanks to the platform's flexible architecture. Rather than operating as a standalone application, Legit.Health is designed to integrate seamlessly into the systems already used by hospitals and telemedicine providers, including electronic health records (EHRs). "We don't ask healthcare professionals to change the way they work. We simply add a layer of objective measurement to their existing clinical workflow," she explains.
When an image of a skin lesion is captured, the AI analyzes it within seconds, providing clinicians with a fully contextualized assessment. "That time saving allows physicians to prioritize cases more effectively, ensuring that urgent patients are treated sooner while less severe cases do not overload clinical schedules. It also enables remote follow-up, reducing unnecessary hospital visits. Ultimately, everyone benefits: healthcare systems become more efficient, while patients receive faster care and greater peace of mind," she adds.
Clinical evidence and the strategic support of CDTI Innovación
Public-sector support has played a decisive role in advancing the company's roadmap toward large-scale deployment and international expansion. Aguilar Robles describes the backing received from CDTI Innovación through its Seal of Excellence funding programme as "a game changer." The programme finances R&D projects undertaken by Spanish SMEs that have been awarded the European Innovation Council (EIC) Seal of Excellence under the Horizon Europe programme.
"Developing science-based technology and a certified medical device requires sustained investment in research. This support has enabled us to complete development and validation stages that would otherwise have taken much longer," she says.
The CEO also emphasizes the intangible value of receiving recognition from a leading public innovation agency such as CDTI Innovación. Beyond financial support, the endorsement strengthens the company's credibility among customers, healthcare providers, and strategic partners. "For a technology-based company like ours, this recognition opens doors, attracts talent, and reinforces the confidence of the professionals and partners we work with. We are deeply grateful for that support," she adds.
Social impact and global ambitions from the Basque Country
AI LABS GROUP's mission is closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By democratizing access to precision dermatology regardless of location, Legit.Health contributes to better health outcomes, improved well-being, and reduced inequalities. At the same time, its commitment to artificial intelligence in healthcare supports the SDGs related to industry, innovation, and infrastructure, positioning technology as a key driver of more efficient healthcare systems.
Looking ahead, the company's medium-term strategy focuses on expanding the deployment of Legit.Health across a growing number of public and private hospitals and healthcare systems. AI LABS GROUP also plans to broaden the platform's clinical capabilities, continue strengthening the scientific evidence supporting its technology, and make objective skin assessment as routine in dermatology as measuring blood pressure is in everyday clinical practice.
In the longer term, the company aims to establish Legit.Health as a global benchmark for artificial intelligence in dermatology. From its headquarters in Spain's Basque Country, AI LABS GROUP intends to demonstrate that world-class healthcare AI can be developed responsibly, safely, and with patients at its core. "We want to show that artificial intelligence in healthcare can be developed to the highest standards—responsibly, safely, and always with people at the center," Aguilar Robles concludes.
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