Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) shares are on the move on Tuesday after the company made a new announcement.

At the time of writing, the health imaging technology company's shares are up slightly to $213.50.

Why are Pro Medicus shares rising?

Investors have been buying the company's shares after it entered into a multi-year research collaboration agreement with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) — one of the most prestigious academic medical centres in the world.

The goal? To accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) research and development using its cutting-edge Visage platform — with a clear eye on commercial outcomes.

The partnership will see UCSF leverage Pro Medicus' Visage AI Accelerator — a platform specifically designed to bring together engineering, clinical research, and real-world application. It allows researchers to securely collect and analyse medical imaging data, test algorithms, and ultimately bring successful projects straight to the clinical workflow.

Commenting on the deal, the global CTO of Pro Medicus' Visage Imaging subsidiary, Malte Westerhoff, said:

Our AI Accelerator program was designed to closely align Visage's engineering and product development capability with clinical research partners such as UCSF who have a depth of clinical knowledge and extensive research expertise. It provides a unique set of tools for data de-identification, collection, curation, analysis and 'path-to-production' in research projects bringing the efficiency and speed of Visage technology to research, resulting in a unified link between the two domains.

Dr Westerhoff believes that AI will play a significant role in the field of imaging IT and highlights that this deal is another significant piece of the company's AI strategy. He adds:

We see AI playing a significant role in healthcare particularly in our field of imaging IT. We have optimized our Visage 7 platform for AI enabling both our own, as well as third-party algorithms to be seamlessly integrated into the clinician's desktop. We see this research collaboration agreement with UCSF as another significant piece of our AI strategy, one that has the potential to develop innovative AI solutions that meet well defined clinical goals and ultimately lead to better patient outcomes.

This is yet another sign that Pro Medicus isn't just defending its turf — it is expanding it, and doing so at the edge of healthcare and technology.

This latest deal with UCSF appears to cement the company's position as a leader in AI-powered medical imaging — and suggests there's still plenty more growth in the tank for long-term investors.