The appropriateness of the above statement is unquestioned by those aware that the TAS program is an emulation of the widely-respected Gautherie interpretation protocol. Gautherie's methodology is irrefutably the most comprehensive and accurate method of thermal breast evaluation. TAS's software is the modern, refined and easy-to-use version of the author's breakthrough program written in the 1980's, in collaboration with Dr. Gautherie.
The Gautherie Model – Review: Gautherie analyzed the thermograms of 100,000 breast patients to identify the most frequent and most significant thermal abnormalities. The data were correlated with diagnostic data derived from mammographic, physical or pathological studies. Gautherie's research resulted in the identification of ten qualitative thermal signs relating to specific thermovascular patterns found in physiological or pathological conditions, and ten quantitative thermal signs pertaining to specific temperature differences of the ten qualitative signs.
Each of the twenty statistically important thermopathological signs is assigned a weighted numerical 'score' relating to the statistical frequency of occurrence of the sign and its correlated pathological significance. The sum of the scores of observed signs is the Thermal Score, a measure of the patient's risk for developing breast cancer. The range of all scores is divided into five categories, TH1 - TH5, with each successive category representating an increased risk for developing breast cancer.
Abridged imitations: With more than twenty qualitative and quantitative thermal markers indicating functional behavior, breast thermograms are by their very nature difficult to analyze and interpret. Before TAS's program, Gautherie's native interpretation protocol demanded extensive time to study and interpret the images of the complicated thermal patterns of the breast.
To abbreviate the time required to properly interpret the thermograms, abridged versions of Gautherie's protocol have appeared over the years. Some analytical techniques employ as little as three thermal signs, with five signs being typical. All of these alternative methods suffer a significant shortcoming — they ignore seeking the possible occurrence of multiple thermal signs that have been identified as statistically important.
[Journalist and satirist H. L. Mencken said it best: "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong."]
Employing Evidentiary Data: The U.S. medical establishment has been reticent to embrace breast thermography*. A principal rationale offered is that the data upon which interpretive protocols have been formulated are anecdotal. Two factors contribute to the reluctance: The absence of double-blind studies supporting thermography's clinical efficacy and the general misconception that anecdotal data are synonymous with fallacious post hoc ergo propter hoc logic. In fact, multiple observed inter-related data can approach the accuracy obtained from blind studies. This is, in part, the mathematical basis for evidence-based medicine.
A comprehensive discussion of statistical and probability theories is beyond the scope of this discussion; however, it can be proven that as the number of observed inter-related data increases, predictions based on that evidentiary data closely rivals predictions based on double-blind studies. As the amount of observed inter-related data increases, there is a transition from seeming post hoc ergo propter hoc logic to Bayesian (conditional) probability.
In the context of breast thermography evaluation, it can therefore be stated as 'the greater the number of thermal signs employed in the analysis, the greater the accuracy, validity and integrity of the evaluation.' When less signs are employed, increased error results. It follows that Gautherie's 20-sign interpretation protocol is more accurate and credible than methods employing fewer thermal signs in their analysis.
Improved Accuracy with the TAS Program: The Gautherie protocol has been computerized with the objective of further improving its accuracy and objectivity. To this end, the software program requires analysts to thoroughly answer questions posed by the program, and a decision tree interogatory process solicits responses related only to the actual thermal signs present. For example, if no vascular hyperthermia is observed, the program skips further questions regarding temperature, location, and characteristics of vascular hyperthermia.
The TAS computer program is far more efficient than performing the native Gautherie analysis. The accuracy and objectivity are increased, and the interpretation time is significantly shorter. The analysis is performed interactively — the computer demands objective responses to simple, specific questions. In short, TAS's breast thermography evaluation software answers the need for an uncomplicated analytical technique that produces fast, accurate and repeatable results.
Conclusion: The TAS program emulates the Gautherie interpretation protocol, the most comprehensive and accurate method of thermal breast evaluation. In contrast to other thermogram assessment techniques, the predictive accuracy of Gautherie's method approaches that of blind studies. The native technique is vastly improved by the TAS program — accuracy and objectivity are meliorated, and the time required for a thorough analysis of complex breast thermograms is reduced considerably. Succinctly put, the TAS breast thermogram evaluation program is the most comprehensive, accurate, objective, exacting and credible method of breast thermogram assessment available.