This proposal is to develop an electrochemical gustometer for evaluating human taste function. Taste disorders are associated with a number of debilitating diseases and have a strong psychological and nutritional impact. Improved taste measurement techniques may aid in the early detection of these diseases or monitoring of disease progression or treatment. The proposed device will augment current psychophysical evaluation procedures by (1) acting as a precision stimulator of chemical taste, 92) allowing parallel activation of electric taste, and (3) measuring fundamental electrical characteristics of lingual epithelium. The capabilities of the device will be tested for improving reliability and reducing testing time.
