The invention pertains to evaluating the sense of smell of a test subject. More particularly, it pertains to a self-contained, disposable smell test kit.
Assessing a patient's sense of smell has many important medical applications. These include aiding in diagnosing various medical conditions, such as the potential early detection of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Additionally, by evaluating the sense of smell both before and after nose or sinus surgery, the evaluation aids in assessing the success of the surgical procedure as well as in the detection of malingering patients. Evaluating the sense of smell also aids in the investigation of medical causes that result in a decrease or loss of the sense of smell.
There are various causes of loss or damage to the sense of smell. Viral infections and head trauma lead the causes resulting in a damaged sense of smell. Viral infections can kill off olfactory cells which generally grow back. However, the virus may kill a disproportionate number of olfactory cells or affect the patient's ability to regenerate olfactory cells and thus damage the sense of smell. The sense of smell can also be damaged by head trauma which can sever the delicate connections between the olfactory neurons. Other causes of damage or loss to the sense of smell can result from exposure to toxic chemicals. Exposure to benzene, chloride, mercury and various insecticides have been implicated as causes to a loss of the sense of smell. It is also believed that the early stages of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease may damage the sense of smell.
On rare occasions, nose or sinus surgery may also cause damage or loss of the sense of smell in a patient. However, malpractice claims against surgeons who perform these operations are becoming more prevalent. Without the ability to uniformly test the patient's sense of smell before and after the procedure, the surgeon's ability to defend against this type of malpractice claim is limited. Administering a uniform smell test before and after the surgical procedure would enable the surgeon to more accurately assess the surgical procedures affect on the patient's sense of smell and identify malingering patients.
Currently, there are two primary means to test the sense of smell. The first of these techniques is by use of vials of fluid which emit a distinct scent. However, this technique is difficult to use because each distinct scent requires its own vial. Thus several vials containing different scents have to be used just to create one test kit. Unless a hospital or medical office maintains multiple test kits, comprising multiple sets of vials of distinct scents, only one smell test can be performed at a time. Additionally, the test kit must be kept in a central location for access and use by multiple personnel. This raises logistical and accountability issues to ensure the vials are available when needed. The vial technique is also nondisposable, and therefore less sanitary which results in the potential transmission of infectious diseases between different patients. The scent which is transmitted by the fluid within the vials also loses strength over time. The vial testing method therefore does not provide a uniform testing technique which limits the effectiveness of comparing successive smell test results over time.
The second technique uses "scratch and sniff" pieces of paper. However, "scratch and sniff" technology does not release a potent aroma and the scents that are used are generally not easily recognizable which generates inaccurate results. Furthermore, the amount of scent that is released is dependant upon the number of scent bubbles that are scratched. The "scratch and sniff" smell test is therefore not administered uniformly, which further limits the effectiveness of the results over time. The vial and "scratch and sniff" techniques are also time intensive. There is therefore no known device to administer a uniform smell test that is easy to use, self-contained and disposable.