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were nearly equally represented. There was a statistically significant difference between the two tablets regarding swallowability and how noticeable they were in the throat. The almond tablet was deemed easier to swallow and was less noticed in the throat (Figure 4). A good correlation was found between the CLT and the at-home results. No corre- lation was found between the difficulty of swallowing and the amount of water consumed while swallowing the tablets. Elongated versus almond. Of the 109 panelists who assessed the almond and elongated tablets males and females were nearly equally represented. No statistically significant difference was found regarding swallowability and how noticeable they were in the throat (Figure 5). Nor was there a correlation found between the difficulty of swallowing and the amount of water consumed while swal- lowing the tablets. Additional investigation To visualize how the subjects responded to the round, elongated, and almond tablets, six volunteers were scanned using ultrasound imaging. The equipment included a 9L lin- ear probe (frequency 8.4 to 9 megahertz) connected to a GE Logiq E9 ultrasound machine. The probe was applied to the proximal esophagus on the left side of the throat. Once a good longitudinal view of the proximal esophagus was obtained, the volunteer was asked to swallow one tablet. Each volunteer rested until the others had swallowed a tablet, and the procedure was then repeated with another tablet. The sequence for each volunteer was randomized. All volunteers were "normal swallowers" and did not express having had any problem in swallowing tablets. Three of them said they found the round tablet the most difficult, two the elongated, and one did not feel any differ- ence. From the ultrasound images, it's apparent that most of the tablets passed easily through the throat. Yet some were seen to return to the throat and then disappear again (sec- ond gulp). This was seen four times when the round tablet was swallowed and twice when the elongated tablet was swallowed. Interestingly, it appeared that the larger-radius end of the almond tablet entered the esophagus first. Discussion Of the three different shapes of tablets compared, almond, round, and elongated, the almond tablet was sig- nificantly easier to swallow than the round one, while the difference between the elongated and almond tablets was insignificant. In terms of noticing the tablet in the throat, the almond shape was least noticed compared with the round, and the difference between the elongated and the almond tablets was insignificant. That said, the insignificant difference in favor of the almond is interesting because it indicates that the smallest dimension is not the most important parameter in this context. If it were, the preferences would be ranked as elongated -> almond -> round from "could not feel" to "could clearly feel." In fact, the ranking from the study was almond -> elongated -> round, indicating that the "seed shape" is the decisive parameter because the the almond tablet is wider than the elongated one. Table 1 How easy is it for you to swallow tablets? Always (%) Often (%) Occasionally (%) Rarely (%) Never (%) How often do you experience diffi- culty in swallowing tablets? 1 7 13 65 14 How often do you feel that the tablet sticks in the throat? 0 7 25 50 18 When ingesting tablets, how often do you swallow a few simultane- ously? 33 24 10 10 23 How often do you crush tablets to ingest them? 1 1 1 7 90 Daily (%) Often (%) Few days a week (%) Few times a month (%) Few times a year (%) How often do you ingest tablets? 66 2 2 13 17 Water (%) Milk (%) Juice (%) Other (%) What do you drink to swallow the tablets? 91 3 3 3 Tablets & Capsules January 2016 37