8
© Emerging Tech Trans, LLC
The clamp attaches to the upper side of one or two head coil beams. Only friction between the coil and
the clamp hold the piece in place. Therefore, it slides easily along the direction of the main magnetic
field, to fit many head sizes. It allows also to be adjusted with an angle of up to 5 degrees to fit different
face geometries.
Figure 9
–
Applicator setup on a Siemens 12CH head coil
The actual mouthpiece is connected to the clamp though a two-rack track, which allows for height
adjustments relative to the
patient’s
mouth. A retaining pin holds the two at a fixed elevation during the
experiment.
In case of an emergency the clamp allows to easily slide the whole setup upwards, with just the force of
the subjects’ tongue.
Fitting a subject
During the subject setup it is advised to fit the clamp to the upper part of the head coil first. While the
subject gets situated in the coil, slide the mouthpiece into the clamp into the most upward position
without securing it yet with the pin. Now slowly join the coil with the subjects’ mouth. Confirm with the
subject that they get each tastant during the standard test run through all channels.
The first experiment
Before the first experiment can be designed a few thoughts on your options with the ETT Gustometer.
Stimuli will be delivered in form of drops of liquid through a system of Teflon tubing through an
applicator into the subjects’ mouth.
These drops of substances that will stimulate the gustatory
sensation (tastant) are commonly a chemical of choice dissolved or suspended in distilled water (dH
2
O).
Alternatively, a specific neutral rinse, which usually mainly consists of distilled water can be chosen as
the carrier fluid. If the particle size is small enough even emulsions with high liquid portion are
deliverable.