Smell Diskettes
The assessment of olfactory function can play an important role in rhinology, especially in endonasal surgery. Existing tests usually comprise either a series of small bottles containing different odorants, or micro-encapsulated "scratch and sniff" paper. Both methods have drawbacks, either of cost or inconvenience.
Smell Diskettes, designed by the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, have the advantages of convenience and re-usability, and the odours used are more familiar to Europeans than those in American tests. The diskettes are easy to use, and eliminate the risk of contaminating the hands of the investigator or patient.
A recently published clinical paper1 concludes "The application of odours with smell diskettes is a fast and reliable method and allows testing of olfactory function in the clinical setting".
1Briner, H.R. and Simmen, D.(1999), Smell Diskettes as a screening test of olfaction. Rhinology 37, 145-148
Other publications:
Briner, H.R., Simmen, D., and Jones, N. (2003); Impaired sense of smell in patients with nasal surgery. Clin. Otolaryngol. 28, 417-419
