A healthcare technology company, Avenda Health, has announced that its AI software is proving to be more effective in accurately detecting the scope of prostate cancer than traditional methods employed by doctors. Their study, released last month, engaged ten medical professionals who evaluated 50 different prostate cancer cases. The results indicated that Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an impressive 84.7% accuracy rate in detecting cancer, significantly outperforming the physicians, whose manual detection accuracy ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
The research, conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, highlighted the potential of AI in enhancing doctors’ performance. The study revealed that when assisted by AI for cancer contouring, predictions regarding cancer size were 45 times more precise and consistent compared to traditional methods.
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, a senior author of the study and assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA, noted that AI assistance not only increased the accuracy of diagnoses but also promoted greater consensus among doctors. This innovation is particularly impactful given that certain tumors remain “MRI-invisible,” creating challenges in diagnosis using conventional imaging methods, as pointed out by Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
The introduction of AI in cancer treatment presents promising possibilities for achieving more personalized and effective patient care, transforming the approach to battling prostate cancer. Dr. Brisbane emphasized that AI could augment human capabilities, leading to advancements in treatment tailored to individual patient needs.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, with an estimated 299,010 new cases anticipated this year alone, resulting in 35,250 deaths from the disease.
The positive implications of these findings are significant, heralding a shift toward technology-driven healthcare solutions that could greatly improve patient outcomes in the fight against prostate cancer. As the medical community embraces such innovative methodologies, there is hope for more effective treatments that elevate the standard of care for patients battling cancer.