Avenda Health, an AI healthcare company, has announced that its software can more accurately assess the extent of prostate cancer than traditional methods employed by doctors.
A recent study involved ten doctors who evaluated 50 prostate cancer cases each. Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7% in detecting cancer, whereas the physicians’ manual assessments ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
Conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and featured in the Journal of Urology, the research highlighted that the use of AI for cancer contouring significantly improved predictions regarding tumor size, achieving accuracy 45 times greater than traditional methods.
Shyam Natarajan, assistant adjunct professor of urology at UCLA and the study’s senior author, noted that AI assistance not only improved the accuracy of diagnoses but also enhanced consistency among doctors’ assessments.
While doctors often rely on MRI scans to gauge tumor size, some tumors remain undetectable on MRIs. Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA, stated that AI can fill the gaps where MRIs might fail. He added that the integration of AI in cancer treatment has the potential to lead to more personalized and effective patient care strategies.
Avenda Health CEO Dr. Natarajan expressed pride in the validation of their innovative approach through rigorous studies recognized by the American Medical Association.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately one in eight men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, with one in 44 succumbing to the disease. This year alone, it’s estimated that there will be 299,010 new prostate cancer cases, resulting in 35,250 deaths.