Avenda Health, an AI healthcare firm, claims its software can more accurately assess the extent of prostate cancer than human doctors. In a recent study involving ten physicians who evaluated 50 prostate cancer cases each, Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7%. In comparison, the doctors using traditional methods had accuracy rates ranging from 67.2% to 75.9%.
Conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, the study revealed that AI-assisted cancer contouring resulted in predictions of tumor size that were 45 times more precise and consistent than those made without AI support.
Shyam Natarajan, the assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the study’s senior author, stated that AI assistance enhanced both the accuracy and consistency of the doctors’ assessments, leading to greater agreement among them.
While physicians typically rely on MRI scans to measure tumor size, some tumors remain “MRI-invisible,” as noted by Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. He emphasized that AI technology fills the gaps where MRIs are unable to provide clear insights.
Brisbane also suggested that incorporating AI into cancer treatment can pave the way for more effective and personalized patient care, tailoring treatments to individual requirements and improving their chances of successfully combating the disease. He remarked that AI can surpass human capabilities.
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, CEO of Avenda Health, expressed pride in seeing such innovation validated through studies and acknowledged by the American Medical Association (AMA).
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 44 men will ultimately die from the disease. This year, an estimated 299,010 new prostate cancer cases are expected in the U.S., with around 35,250 related fatalities projected.