A healthcare technology company specializing in artificial intelligence claims that its software can identify the extent of prostate cancer more accurately than human doctors.
Avenda Health conducted a recent study involving ten physicians who evaluated 50 different cases of prostate cancer. Their AI tool, named Unfold AI, demonstrated an accuracy rate of 84.7% in detecting cancer, compared to the manual assessments of doctors, which ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
This research, carried out in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, revealed that AI-assisted cancer contouring provided predictions of tumor size that were 45 times more precise than those made without AI support.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the senior author of the study, remarked that the use of AI made physicians more accurate and consistent in their assessments, leading to a greater consensus among doctors when utilizing AI tools.
Typically, imaging techniques like MRI are used to determine tumor size; however, Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, noted that some tumors are “MRI-invisible.” In such instances, AI proves beneficial where traditional imaging falls short.
Dr. Brisbane added that incorporating AI in cancer treatment could result in more effective and personalized patient care, with therapies that are better aligned with individual needs, ultimately enhancing success in combating the disease. He emphasized that AI has the potential to exceed human capabilities.
Avenda Health’s CEO, Dr. Shyam Natarajan, expressed pride in seeing this type of innovation validated through research and acknowledged by the American Medical Association (AMA).
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives, and 1 in 44 will succumb to the illness. This year, it is projected that there will be 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer in the U.S., leading to an estimated 35,250 deaths from the disease.