Results of a prospective study just released demonstrate that an artificial intelligence (AI) technology solution from Proscia can automatically detect melanoma with a high degree of accuracy.

Conducted at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and the University of Florida, the study assessed the the real-world performance of Proscia’s technology on an uncurated set of 1,422 sequential skin biopsies. The technology correctly identified invasive melanoma and melanoma in situ with a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 91%. It also classified basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma with an AUC of .97 and .95, respectively, accounting for a combined 97% of all skin cancers. This study validated the results of a multi-site retrospective study of 12,784 images, which will be presented during the Computational Challenges in Digital Pathology Workshop at the 2021 International Conference on Computer Vision.

“The performance of Proscia’s technology in detecting melanoma and other malignant skin diseases is impressive,” said Dr. Kiran Motaparthi, Director of Dermatopathology and Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology at the University of Florida. “This is an exciting development as pathologists increasingly look to unlock new sources of value from artificial intelligence."Proscia is conducting additional research to demonstrate the potential benefits of AI in dermatopathology, including faster delivey of results to patients, consistency in the diagnosis of difficult melanoma cases, and optimizing laboratory productivity to enhance profitability. 

"Proscia’s technology represents a significant advancement in our work on skin pathology," says Julianna Ianni, PhD, Proscia's Vice President of AI Research & Development. "Our AI not only identifies melanoma, a difficult diagnosis, but also accounts for the high degree of variation in disease to push the boundaries of deep learning in medicine. In doing so, it holds great promise to help pathologists deliver faster, more consistent diagnoses and improve patient outcomes."

The AI validated in the study expands upon the technology that powers Proscia’s DermAI® application. Available on the Concentriq® digital pathology platform, DermAI provides an AI-based classification for every skin case. The company is also collaborating with leading academic and commercial laboratories, including LabPON, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Unilabs, University Medical Center Utrecht, and University of California, San Francisco, to accelerate the adoption of AI in pathology.

Dr. Ianni and collaborators Dr. Kiran Motaparthi and Dr. Jason Lee will discuss the prospective study during a webinar on November 9.