Avenda Health has announced that its AI software can detect prostate cancer with greater accuracy than traditional methods used by doctors. In a study involving ten physicians who evaluated 50 cases of prostate cancer each, Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7%. In contrast, the doctors’ manual detection rates ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
Conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, the study highlighted that AI-assisted cancer contouring significantly improved predictions of cancer size, making them 45 times more accurate and consistent compared to traditional methods.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology and senior author of the study, noted that AI assistance enhances both the accuracy and consistency of medical professionals, leading to increased agreement among doctors.
While MRI scans are commonly used to assess tumor sizes, Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, pointed out that some tumors can be “MRI-invisible,” where AI proves beneficial.
According to Brisbane, employing AI in cancer treatment could result in more personalized and effective care, tailored specifically to meet patients’ individual needs and improve treatment success rates. He emphasized that AI has the potential to surpass human capabilities in this area.
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, CEO of Avenda Health, expressed his enthusiasm for the validation of this technological advancement through studies and recognition from the American Medical Association (AMA).
Statistics from the American Cancer Society indicate that approximately 1 in 8 men in the United States will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, and 1 in 44 will succumb to the illness. This year, it is estimated that there will be 299,010 new prostate cancer cases in the US, with 35,250 fatalities attributed to the disease.