An artificial intelligence healthcare company has announced that its software can more accurately determine the extent of prostate cancer compared to traditional methods used by doctors.
Avenda Health released findings from a recent study involving ten physicians, each evaluating 50 different prostate cancer cases. The company’s Unfold AI software demonstrated an accuracy rate of 84.7%, while the physicians’ manual assessments ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
This study, conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, revealed that AI-assisted cancer contouring predictions were 45 times more accurate and reliable than those made without AI support.
According to Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the study’s senior author, AI assistance enhanced both the accuracy and consistency of doctors’ assessments, leading to greater agreement among them.
Traditionally, doctors utilize MRIs to determine tumor size, but certain tumors may be “MRI-invisible,” explained Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. He emphasized that AI technology can address these limitations where MRIs fall short.
Dr. Brisbane noted that the incorporation of AI in cancer treatment could revolutionize patient care, allowing for approaches that are more personalized and effective in combatting the disease.
Avenda Health CEO Dr. Natarajan stated that witnessing the validation of such innovations through research is empowering for physicians, particularly with recognition from the American Medical Association (AMA).
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 44 will succumb to it. This year, it is expected that the US will see 299,010 new prostate cancer cases, with 35,250 resulting in fatalities.