A healthcare company specializing in artificial intelligence has announced that its software can more precisely assess the extent of prostate cancer than traditional methods employed by doctors.
Avenda Health recently conducted a study involving ten medical professionals who evaluated 50 different prostate cancer cases. The findings revealed that Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7% in detecting cancer, compared to doctors’ accuracy, which ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%. This significant discrepancy highlights the potential of AI in improving diagnostic precision.
Published in the Journal of Urology and conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health, the study also demonstrated that when AI was utilized in cancer contouring, predictions regarding tumor size became 45 times more precise and consistent compared to traditional methods.
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, a senior author on the study and an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA, emphasized the enhanced accuracy and consistency of diagnoses when physicians employed AI assistance. He stated that AI helped improve agreement rates among doctors making assessments.
Certain tumors, often termed “MRI-invisible,” can elude detection using conventional MRI scans, as noted by Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He remarked that AI provides solutions in instances where MRIs fall short, thus paving the way for more effective and personalized patient care.
Dr. Natarajan, CEO of Avenda Health, expressed enthusiasm about the validation of such innovations by studies and their recognition from the American Medical Association (AMA).
In the United States, approximately 1 in 8 men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, with 1 in 44 succumbing to the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. This year alone, it is estimated that there will be 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer, resulting in about 35,250 fatalities.
The advancements exemplified by Avenda Health’s AI technology illustrate a hopeful trend in cancer treatment, where personalized medicine can lead to better outcomes for patients fighting this disease. The integration of AI in healthcare could significantly enhance the accuracy of diagnoses while fostering more tailored treatment plans for individuals.