Avenda Health claims that its AI software can identify prostate cancer more accurately than medical professionals. A recent study conducted by Avenda involved ten doctors evaluating 50 different prostate cancer cases each. The results showed that Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7% in detecting cancer, compared to human assessments which ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
This research, carried out in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, highlighted that the use of AI for cancer contouring significantly improved predictions of tumor size—making them 45 times more accurate than those made without AI assistance.
Shyam Natarajan, the assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and senior author of the study, remarked that AI assistance enhances both the accuracy and consistency of doctors’ assessments, leading to greater agreement among physicians.
Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA, noted that while doctors often rely on MRIs to assess tumor sizes, some tumors are “MRI-invisible.” He emphasized that AI steps in where traditional imaging falls short, potentially revolutionizing cancer treatment with more effective and personalized care tailored to individual patients.
Avenda Health’s CEO, Dr. Natarajan, expressed the significance of these findings, highlighting the validation of such innovations through research and recognition from the American Medical Association.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, and 1 in 44 will succumb to the disease. This year alone, the U.S. is projected to see around 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer, with an estimated 35,250 deaths from the illness.