The Clinical Applicability of the 'TIB' Olfactory Test Device

A new smell identification test, 'TIB' Olfactory Test Device (Top International Biotech, Taipei) has been developed in Taiwan. It consists of 16 tests with an odorant embedded in fragrant microcapsules positioned on a strip. The examinee scratches the strip to release the odorant. The released odorant is sniffed and the examinee identifies the odorant by choosing a name from a set of 4 odor descriptors. This process is then repeated with the next odorant on the strip.

The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), which was developed at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the most reliable and the most widely used olfactory test.The test consists of four 10-odorant booklets. Each odorant is embedded in 10 to 50 µm urea-formaldehyde polymer microencapsules fixed in a proprietary binder and positioned on a brown strip which is located at the bottom of each page of the test booklet.4 When the examinee takes the test, each of the 40 odorants is released by scratching the strip with a pencil tip. The released odorant is sniffed and the examinee identifies the odorant by choosing a name from a set of 4 odor descriptors.