ETT Olfactometer 2 User manual

ETT Olfactometer & ETTDirectControl
The First Paradigm
Manual and Tutorial
Revision 2021.1

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Table of Contents
The First Paradigm...................................................................................................................................... 5
Warnings................................................................................................................................................. 5
Software Installation (ETTDirectControl) ................................................................................................ 5
Access to our installer......................................................................................................................... 5
Download............................................................................................................................................ 6
Software overview................................................................................................................................ 10
Manual Mode.................................................................................................................................... 10
Paradigm Designer............................................................................................................................ 10
Updater / Settings............................................................................................................................. 12
Help................................................................................................................................................... 14
Connecting the Device.......................................................................................................................... 16
Before the first power up.................................................................................................................. 16
ETT Olfactometer 2........................................................................................................................... 17
ETT Olfactometer S & ETT Olfactometer C........................................................................................ 19
Prerequisites......................................................................................................................................... 21
The paradigm.................................................................................................................................... 21
Preparing the odorants..................................................................................................................... 21
Connecting the tubing....................................................................................................................... 22
Flow rate adjustments ...................................................................................................................... 24
Creating a simple paradigm.................................................................................................................. 25
Creating a new paradigm.................................................................................................................. 25
Configuring an olfactory condition.................................................................................................... 27
Configuring the visual component.................................................................................................... 29
Managing, cloning and adjusting groups........................................................................................... 31
Assembling paradigm........................................................................................................................ 32
Labeling conditions for data analysis ................................................................................................ 32
Group randomizer............................................................................................................................. 32
Triggered start .................................................................................................................................. 33
Recording the respiratory signal ....................................................................................................... 33
Test run............................................................................................................................................. 33

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Inspecting the data file ..................................................................................................................... 36
Using Triggers in ETTDirectControl ....................................................................................................... 39
TTL IN (Externally triggered start) ..................................................................................................... 39
Respiratory Trigger............................................................................................................................ 40
Beyond basics ................................................................................................................................... 42
Cleaning the odorant carrier..................................................................................................................... 46
Before we start:.................................................................................................................................... 46
Cleaning the carrier top........................................................................................................................ 46
Cleaning the bottles.............................................................................................................................. 50
Cleaning the tubing............................................................................................................................... 50
Odorant flow setup................................................................................................................................... 52
Carrier Setup......................................................................................................................................... 52
Check valve layout in the odorant carrier............................................................................................. 52
Typical air flow configuations ............................................................................................................... 53
Configuration for multiple channels at once......................................................................................... 55
Setting up multiple channels within ETTDirectControl ......................................................................... 56
ETT EEG Trigger Interface.......................................................................................................................... 57
Hardware setup .................................................................................................................................... 57
System overview............................................................................................................................... 57
Software Setup ..................................................................................................................................... 58
Prerequisites..................................................................................................................................... 58
EGI NetStation................................................................................................................................... 58
ETT Direct Control............................................................................................................................. 60

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The First Paradigm
Warnings
1. This device is for research use only!
2. The main device / the actual ETT Olfactometer is not MRI compatible.
3. Only the ETT Odorant carrier, tubing, respiratory belt and the applicator/nose piece are MRI
compatible and thus allowed into the magnet room.
4. Feed all tubing through an appropriately sized wave guide to avoid damage to it.
Software Installation (ETTDirectControl)
Access to our installer
For registered users, we are offering all our software as a download on our website
(emergingtechtrans.com). Access will be provided during the purchase of the device via email contact
with our support. Additional accounts can be created at any time upon request to
[e-mail].
With access to our support section (Figure 1) there are two to three different versions of
ETTDirectControl accessible. Depending on your request, we can unlock specific preview version access.
All installer packages describe supported operating systems and contain all necessary dependencies in
the package. Should it be required, we are also providing links to the driver and library packages below
separately.
It should be noted that the previous stable version, while still actively maintained is limited in its
features to support our users that are still using Windows XP. To use all new features, download the
current stable / release version. Please look at the Meaning of Update Rings on page 13, to find out
more about each version.

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Figure 1 - Software support section on emergingtechtrans.com
Download
Once the fitting version / update track was chosen, a click on the download button will download the
software. All installers automatically contain 32/64bit compatible installers.
Figure 2 –Double-click on the downloaded executable to initiate the setup process
Since ETTDirectControl requires device drivers, it will require to be installed with Administrator
privileges (Figure 3).

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Figure 3 - For drivers and device access ETTDirectControl requires administrator privileges
Once the necessary privileges are granted the installer will guide through each step. Please adjust the
settings appropriately and click Next each time to progress (Figure 4). If multiple versions of
ETTDirectControl are installed on the same machine, change the installation path. Make sure to check to
install both pre-requisites:
1. Microsoft .NET Framework 4
2. FTDI USB drivers
Under some circumstances (failed to install .NET Framework) these options must be unchecked and
installed separately. Follow Figure 4 through Figure 10 to complete the installation. At last the installer
will offer to run ETTDirectControl. Yet again administrator privileges must be granted.
Figure 4 - First page of installer - after selecting the appropriate settings, click next to progress.

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Figure 5 - Adjust the installation path if necessary. Select .NET and USB drivers as they are needed for ETTDirectControl to
operate (any needed extras will be automatically checked).
Figure 6 - Define path of installation
Figure 7 - Set Start Menu folder

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Figure 8 - Adjust icon settings as necessary.
Figure 9 - Trigger actual installation
Figure 10 - Step through FTDI USB driver and .NET Framework 4 installers
After successfully completing the installation and first starting the application, it is a good time to first
plug the ETT Olfactometer into the USB port (consult Connecting the Device on page 16 if necessary).

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The first start might spawn a Windows driver initialization and could take a moment. Once completed,
the device should be successfully recognized as shown in Figure 11. Under some circumstances it may be
required to reboot the PC before the device can be recognized.
Software overview
Manual Mode
The Manual Mode tab in ETTDirectControl will list any connected device that is currently compatible to
this software. Depending on the type of device and specific features, the interface for the device will
adjust. For our Olfactometers a list of channels / valves will be presented in the form of clickable
buttons. A gray button means the valve is currently closed, while blue color represents currently opened
valves (Figure 11Figure 15). The number of listed buttons will adjust with the number of valves that your
specific Olfactometer has.
Figure 11 - Manual Mode with connected ETT Olfactometer 2 with active simulated respiratory signal. Valve 3 with the blue
background color is opened.
Features custom to each device and their current state will be represented below. In the depicted case
of an ETT Olfactometer 2 these are TTL Trigger (for external triggers) and control of the Respiration
sensor system. If the latter is active, a small preview plot of the subjects’ respiratory patterns will be
depicted next to these.
This mode is meant to help design and debug paradigms, where it can be useful to manually open and
close valves to test odorant concentrations and stimulus durations. It can also help to explore the
influence of connected sensors that are set around trigger conditions used in the paradigm. Prior to
running an experiment with a human subject, it is advisable to check in this view, if all systems are active
and working.
Paradigm Designer

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The paradigm designer is used for creating, testing and executing paradigms. It is divided into five
sections, which generally represent the common workflow (as shown in Figure 12 and Figure 13). The
following list of actions is associated with each of the sections:
0. Creating / Saving / Loading / Running
a. Creating new paradigms
b. Loading paradigms
c. Saving paradigms
d. Labeling paradigm run
e. Running, stopping paradigms
f. Name paradigm
g. Navigate to output data
1. Configuration of group components
a. Add / edit of valves in Olfactometer
b. Add / edit of visual stimuli
c. Add / edit further trigger conditions
2. Assembling of components into group
a. Create / rename / clone / delete groups
b. Assembling of repeatable items from section 1 into groups / conditions
c. Reorganizing of group elements temporally
d. Adding of groups to paradigm (section 3) in desired order
e. Further paradigm settings and randomizer in other sub-tabs
3. Assembly of groups into paradigm sequence
a. Assembling of groups into paradigm
b. Reordering / removing / cloning of group calls along temporal line
c. Preview of final paradigm
d. Visualization of progress within paradigm during execution
e. Visualization of trigger conditions
4. Respiratory signal
a. Plot of respiratory signal
b. Visualization of detected inhalation and exhalation onsets
5. Status information
a. Currently selected language
b. Quick call of subject interface for visual queue
c. Connection status to connected device
d. Posting of trigger events

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Figure 12 - Sections of the Paradigm Designer in ETTDirectControl
Figure 13 - Overlaid functional sections of Paradigm Designer
The typical workflow would start at 0 and create and name or load a paradigm.
Updater / Settings
The Updater view is the easiest way to get access to new features. If the current update ring you are on
receives an update for either ETTDirectControl or the connects device firmware, it will be shown here
(Figure 14). We suggest to only allow automatic updates on systems that are not currently used in an
active study as updates may cause unexpected disturbance to your current setup. As updates on the
preview rings usually come with free access to new features, it might be worth installing these on a
separate PC. Sometimes as a quick workaround for a bug reported to us, you might be advised by our
support to switch to a current Alpha or Beta preview version.

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Figure 14 - The Update and Settings view can be used to set basic parameters as well as checking for updates and switching
Update Rings. In this case an update to version 1.0.2.3 would be advised. If advised by our support staff, there is also an option
to update the device firmware to the latest version.
In addition to updates, this view also manages several essential settings. Changes will automatically be
saved upon exiting the application. There is also an option to reset all settings to a tested default.
Settings in ETTDirectControl are stored in a clear text XML formatted file. This file named
ETTDirectControl.cfg can be found in the /Config subfolder. While it is not recommended, this file can be
manually edited to adjust settings. If changes prevent the application from starting or working, a default
will be recreated upon deleting the broken file. Warning, if you were on a specific update ring other than
release / stable, ETTDirectControl will switch back to this as the default ring.
Meaning of Update Rings
Release / Stable
Usually a relatively old version is well tested, but it might be limited in certain features. This track gets
updated only once new features are tested thoroughly.
Preview / Beta
The beta ring should be understood as a relatively stable version, that allows us to roll out newer tested
features to a limited user group. Such features might increase the complexity of the software or in rare
cases be unstable.
Preview / Alpha
In the alpha ring, we are testing experimental features specifically requested by customers. While the
goal is to never release an unstable version, it is possible a version in alpha could crash unexpectedly.

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Help
To get a general understanding of the features of this software and learn how to use ETTDirectControl
for the most essential tasks, there are several options.
Almost every button has a Tool Tip which will reveal further information upon hovering over the button
for several seconds (Figure 15). Some labels and other controls also contain additional context
information. Some of the most important controls are additionally labeled with icons to support
interpretation.
Figure 15 - Typical Tool Tip describing the function or typical use of most features in ETTDirectControl
Under the Help tab in ETTDirectControl short, 1 to 2-minute tutorials can be found (Figure 16). A click
will automatically jump around topic related controls in the software. A small textbox next to the
marked control will explain its function and general use (Figure 17).
Figure 16 - Basic help system in ETTDirectControl - clicking on any of the links will start a brief description of several essential
tasks

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Figure 17 - Example of a speech bubble when using the integrated help system
Beyond using the listed features and our other online resources, please feel free
to contact us if you have any further questions or problems:
[e-mail]

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Connecting the Device
Before the first power up
All ETT devices can be operated with the most common ac supply voltages around the world. Before you
start your new ETT Olfactometer please make sure that the voltage setting on the back panel is set to
the correct voltage of your local power system (slide switch to position so that correct voltage is
readable as in Figure 18). On all newer devices (2x) this is not necessary.
Figure 18 - Please set the switch on the back panel of your ETT Olfactometer so that the small number on the slider is closest to
your local AC power supply.
Not following this advice might cause severe damage to internal components in your device. If you are
unsure, please contact us before you switch on your device.
ETT Olfactometer 2+, ETT Olfactometer 2C& ETT Olfactometer 2S
To control the olfactometer from a PC, connect the provided USB cord to the PC CONTROL USB port on
the front panel. Make sure to not plug this cable into the DATA or RESPIRATION ports as this may
damage the olfactometer and/or connected PC. It is recommended to only connect the USB cable to the
olfactometer while the device is powered on.
Figure 19 - Connect the USB cord from your PC to the PC Control port. Please be advised to only use each of the USB ports for its
intended purpose!

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Figure 20 - On the ETT Olfactometer 2+ control is given to the PC via the PC CONTROL button on the main screen of the
touchscreen OS.
Figure 21 - Both olfactometers 2C and 2S need to be manually switched to PC control via the button on the front panel.
Upon successful discovery ETTDirectControl should be able to take full control of the olfactometer. It
should display device specific control features. Potential firmware updates of your device can be
executed directly from the software.
ETT Olfactometer 2
Power on the device and connect it to the PC via the included USB cable through the C_BYPASS port of
the device (see yellow box Figure 22). On the main screen of the touch-screen operating system of your
Olfactometer press the Manual / Computer button in the top right corner (see Figure 23). Within this
control screen (see Figure 24) operation can be handed to the connected PC (see Figure 25).

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Figure 22 –Olfactometer 2 front panel with USB port to PC (yellow), Respiratory response port (red) and TLL Trigger in port
(green)
Figure 23 - Main screen of the ETT Olfactometer 2 touchscreen operating system

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Figure 24 - Manual mode screen of touchscreen operating system of ETT Olfactometer 2. Valves can be switched by checking
valves. Currently no control through connected PC
Figure 25 - The ETT Olfactometer 2 screen is switched to external control from a connected PC and the ETTDirectControl
software or the EPrime package.
ETT Olfactometer S & ETT Olfactometer C
To change the control context between the front panel valve buttons and software control via the
connected PC use the MANUAL/PC physical button on the front panel of the ETT Olfactometer S. Just

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like with the ETT Olfactometer 2 connected external TTL trigger signals as well as connected respiratory
signals will also be transmitted to the connected software. Depending on the currently active context,
an LED light will light up indicating MANUAL or PC control.
Figure 26- ETT Olfactometer S front panel
Figure 27 - ETT Olfactometer C front panel