Source: Thailand Medical News Jun 01, 2019 6 years, 9 months, 17 hours, 32 minutes ago
One of the most common cancers affecting men globally is Prostate cancer, with a rising rate of about 1 out of 8 men being inflicted. Due to the close anatomical association between the prostate and nearby organs, very often complications of prostate cancer treatment result in urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
California-based
Avenda Health has created a new laser health platform that uses artificial intelligence to decrease rates of those complications and improve treatment outcomes. Avenda Health was founded in 2017 as a result of nearly a ten years of research and studies at the University of California.The key team consists of three co-founders: CEO Shyam Natarajan, COO Brittany Berry-Pusey, Ph.D., and CMO Leonard S. Marks, M.D. The three have extensive experience in prostate cancer care, prostate imaging and biopsy, prostate treatments, artificial intelligence, and medical devices.
Unlike traditional prostate cancer treatment, which involves removing or irradiating the entire prostate gland, Avenda uses artificial intelligence to guide precise laser treatment and target just the tumor itself, without affecting the nearby tissues. “Using large datasets of imaging and pathology, Avenda uses AI to calculate precisely where treatment should be applied, sparing healthy tissue so men can maintain normal and healthy urinary and sexual functions,” according to Natarajan in a telephone interview with Thailand Medical News. “Diagnosis and treatment can be done by a single urologist in a clinic-office setting,rather than multiple specialists and various procedures, saving time and costs, and offering potentially quick recovery.”
The results are encouraging so far. According to Natarajan, Avenda Health’s technology has been validated by a recent proof-of-concept Phase I study, in which no patients reported urinary or sexual dysfunction over a one-year follow-up period. The company hopes to raise a Series A round funding for initial commercialization in late 2019, followed by a multi-center clinical trial expected to begin in early 2020, funded in part by a $3.1 million grant from the NIH.
“Avenda Health is excited about the future of prostate cancer treatment,” says Berry-Pusey. “Compared to current standard of care for prostate cancer, our system is designed to dramatically reduce complications, shorten procedure and recovery time, and move treatment out of an expensive operating room into an clinic consulting room-based setting.”
For more product information:
https://www.avendahealth.com/
