An AI healthcare company claims that its software is able to identify the extent of prostate cancer with greater accuracy than medical professionals.
Avenda Health conducted a study involving ten physicians, each evaluating 50 prostate cancer cases. The company’s Unfold AI software achieved an 84.7% accuracy rate in detecting cancer, whereas the doctors’ manual assessments ranged from 67.2% to 75.9% accuracy.
This research, conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, also revealed that when utilizing AI for cancer contouring, the size predictions were 45 times more accurate and consistent compared to those made without AI assistance.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the senior author of the study, stated, “The use of AI assistance improved both the accuracy and consistency of doctors, leading to greater agreement among them.”
Typically, physicians rely on MRIs to assess tumor sizes, but some tumors are not visible in MRIs, according to Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. He emphasized that AI can fill in the gaps where MRIs fall short.
“Ultimately, integrating AI into cancer treatment has the potential to enhance personalized care for patients by tailoring treatments to their specific needs and increasing the likelihood of successful outcomes,” Brisbane noted. He added that AI “surpasses human capability.”
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, CEO of Avenda Health, remarked on the validation of such innovations through studies and acknowledgment by the American Medical Association, emphasizing the significance of this advancement for healthcare professionals.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and one in 44 will succumb to the illness. This year, it is projected that there will be 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer in the U.S., with 35,250 resulting fatalities.