Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Germany.
J Neurosci Methods. 2012 Jul 30;209(1):189-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2012.05.026. Epub 2012 Jun 6.
To perform functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies with olfactory stimulation, the stimulation device requires special properties including those of being non-conductive and non-magnetic. It should also be easily portable and should be small enough to be stored easily when not in use. However, presently only a limited number of devices fulfill these criteria; additionally, they are typically associated with high costs. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a newly developed and relatively simple and inexpensive stimulation device would be suitable for fMRI measurements. Our stimulation device was made of standard industrial and laboratory components, has open-source software and consists of 3 core compartments namely: 'the air inlet, control and distribution section', 'the odorant-section', and 'the delivery-section'. The device was tested in an fMRI study using 21 healthy normosmic subjects who were stimulated with two odors, d-limonene and terpinen-4-ol. Results from this trial suggest that the stimulation device is capable of creating adequate stimulation suitable for fMRI sequences. In general we describe how all sections of the olfactometer are optimized for the needs of fMRI studies.
为了进行带有嗅觉刺激的功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究，刺激设备需要具有一些特殊的属性，包括非导电和非磁性。它还应该易于携带，并且在不使用时应足够小，以便于存放。然而，目前只有少数设备符合这些标准；此外，它们通常与高成本相关联。本研究的目的是调查一种新开发的相对简单且廉价的刺激设备是否适合 fMRI 测量。我们的刺激设备由标准的工业和实验室组件制成，具有开源软件，由 3 个核心部分组成，分别是：“进气口、控制和分配部分”、“气味部分”和“输送部分”。该设备在一项 fMRI 研究中对 21 名嗅觉正常的健康受试者进行了测试，他们被用两种气味（柠檬烯和萜品-4-醇）刺激。该试验的结果表明，刺激设备能够产生适合 fMRI 序列的充分刺激。总的来说，我们描述了如何为 fMRI 研究的需求优化嗅觉计的所有部分。
