An AI healthcare company, Avenda Health, has reported that its Unfold AI software is capable of detecting the extent of prostate cancer with greater accuracy than traditional methods used by doctors. In a study involving ten physicians assessing 50 different prostate cancer cases, the AI tool achieved an impressive 84.7% accuracy rate, surpassing the manual detection rate of the physicians, which ranged between 67.2% and 75.9%.
Conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, the research highlighted that AI-assisted cancer contouring predictions were 45 times more accurate and consistent compared to conventional methods. According to Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology at UCLA and the senior author of the study, the integration of AI resulted in greater accuracy and consistency among doctors, enhancing collaborative diagnosis.
Dr. Wayne Brisbane, another assistant professor of urology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, noted that while MRIs are commonly used for tumor size assessment, some tumors are difficult to visualize on these scans. AI technology offers solutions where traditional imaging may fall short, thus improving overall cancer treatment strategies.
The potential of AI in cancer care lies in its ability to provide more personalized and effective medical interventions, better tailored to individual patient needs. Dr. Natarajan, who is also the CEO of Avenda Health, expressed optimism regarding the validation of such innovations through studies and the acknowledgment from the American Medical Association (AMA).
The statistical landscape for prostate cancer is concerning, with approximately 1 in 8 men expected to be diagnosed in their lifetime, and about 1 in 44 men facing a fatal outcome from the disease. In 2023, projections indicate there will be around 299,010 new cases in the U.S., with an estimated 35,250 deaths.
This advancement in AI technology represents a significant step forward in the fight against prostate cancer, offering hope for improved detection and treatment methodologies that could lead to better patient outcomes. As AI continues to evolve in the medical field, it is likely to empower healthcare professionals and enhance the precision of cancer care for patients across the country.