An artificial intelligence healthcare company has announced that its software can more accurately detect prostate cancer than medical professionals.
Avenda Health conducted a study involving ten doctors who evaluated 50 different prostate cancer cases. The results showed that Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7%, while doctors performing manual assessments ranged from 67.2% to 75.9% in accuracy.
This research, in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, also indicated that utilizing AI for cancer contouring significantly improved predictions of tumor size, being 45 times more accurate and reliable compared to traditional methods.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the study’s senior author, stated that AI assistance not only enhanced the accuracy of doctors but also increased consistency in their assessments.
Typically, physicians rely on MRIs to gauge tumor size; however, some tumors can be “MRI-invisible.” Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, noted that AI technology fills the gap where MRIs are ineffective. He emphasized that incorporating AI in cancer treatment could lead to more personalized and effective patient care.
Avenda Health’s CEO, Dr. Shyam Natarajan, expressed optimism, stating that it is encouraging for physicians to witness such innovations being validated through research and recognized by the American Medical Association.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, and 1 in 44 men will succumb to the disease. This year, it is estimated that there will be 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer in the U.S., with 35,250 resulting in death.