Avenda Health, an AI healthcare company, claims that its software can more accurately detect the extent of prostate cancer than traditional manual assessments by doctors. A recent study involving ten doctors, each reviewing 50 prostate cancer cases, found that Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7%. In contrast, the physicians’ manual evaluations varied, falling between 67.2% and 75.9%.
The research, conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, revealed that when incorporating AI for cancer contouring, the predictions regarding cancer size were 45 times more accurate and consistent compared to evaluations without AI assistance.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology and senior author of the study, noted that AI not only improved accuracy but also enhanced consistency among doctors’ assessments. This means that when assisted by AI, doctors were more likely to come to the same conclusions.
Typically, doctors rely on MRIs to estimate tumor size; however, some tumors remain “MRI-invisible,” as stated by Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA. He emphasized that AI technology fills the gaps left by MRIs.
Brisbane further suggested that the integration of AI in cancer treatment could result in more effective and personalized patient care, allowing for treatments that are more aligned with individual needs and potentially more successful against the disease. He added that AI has the capability to surpass human limitations in this field.
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, CEO of Avenda Health, expressed pride in the validation of their innovation through study results and recognition from the American Medical Association.
According to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lives, and one in 44 will succumb to the illness. It is projected that there will be 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer in the US this year, with an estimated 35,250 fatalities attributed to the disease.