User's Nose Research Articles

"Scentsor": A Whole-Cell Yeast Biosensor with an Olfactory Reporter for Low-Cost and Equipment-Free Detection of Pharmaceuticals.

Portable and inexpensive analytical tools are required to monitor pharmaceutical quality in technology limited settings including low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Whole cell yeast biosensors have the potential to help meet this need. However, most of the readouts for yeast biosensors require expensive equipment or reagents. To overcome this challenge, we have designed a yeast biosensor that produces a unique scent as a readout. This inducible scent biosensor, or "scentsor", does not require the user to administer additional reagents for reporter development and utilizes only the user's nose to be "read". In this Letter, we describe a scentsor that is responsive to the hormone estradiol (E2). The best estimate threshold (BET) for E2 detection with a panel of human volunteers (n = 49) is 39 nM E2 (15 nM when "non-smellers" are excluded). This concentration of E2 is sensitive enough to detect levels of E2 that would be found in dosage forms. This paper provides evidence that scent has the potential for use in portable yeast biosensors as a readout, particularly for use in LMICs.

Review on development of devices for amplifying human olfaction: Approaches using real and virtual concentration method

AbstractThis paper reports on olfactory amplifying systems and reviews related technologies. We have developed two types of olfactory amplifying systems that allow the user to sense smells with amplified sensitivities. In the first system, odor molecules drifting in the air are collected using an adsorbent material. The concentrated odor vapor is generated and presented to the user by thermal desorption of the collected odor molecules. The second system is a virtual odor concentrator. An odor with an amplified intensity is presented to the user when the presence of a volatile organic compound in the air is detected using a gas sensor. These systems can be viewed as olfactory versions of augmented reality systems. The user's perception of the world is altered by modifying the olfactory stimuli perceived by the user's nose. Ongoing research efforts toward the development of the olfactory amplifying systems are presented in this paper and their potential applications are discussed.

2111 匂い強度を増幅する装置の基礎的研究(福祉機械・ヒューマンインターフェース(2))

Here we propose a device that can amplify odor intensity by concentrating odorous chemicals contained in air. The device consists of an air pump, an adsorbent, and a heater. Air samples are sucked into the device by using the pump. The gaseous chemical compounds contained in the air samples are trapped on the adsorbent. The concentrated odor vapor is generated by adding heat to the adsorbent to desorb the chemicals accumulated on its surface. The generated odor vapor is delivered to the user's nose by using the air pump, and thus, the intensified odor is presented to the user. Experimental results are presented to show the feasibility of the odor intensity amplification. The user of the device can clearly perceive an odor even if its concentration is below the human detection limit.

F111002 臭覚とそのHMI応用([F11100]機素潤滑設計部門企画,ヒューマン・マシン・インターフェイス設計の新たな潮流)

An olfactory display is a device that generates various odors and delivers them to the user's nose. It has been originally developed as part of a multimodal user interface in a virtual reality system to provide a rich experience to the user. Presenting odors together with visual images and sound is also expected to enhance the reality of various scenes in a movie. An olfactory display can also be used to add special effects to video games and digital signage. In this article, the olfactory display technology is briefly reviewed. Two examples are described in detail: a smelling screen and an olfactory assist mask. The smelling screen generates spatial odor distribution as if an odor is released from a specific position on a computer monitor screen. The olfactory assist mask allows the user to have an enhanced olfactory sensitivity. It detects a faint scent wafting in air by using a gas sensor, and presents an odor vapor with an increased concentration to the user.

Introducing computational fluid dynamics simulation into olfactory display

AbstractAn olfactory display is a device that delivers various odors to the user's nose. It can be used to add special effects to movies and games by releasing odors relevant to the scenes shown on the screen. In order to provide high‐presence olfactory stimuli to the users, the display must be able to generate realistic odors with appropriate concentrations in a timely manner together with visual and audio playback. In this paper, we propose to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in conjunction with an olfactory display. Odor molecules released from their source are transported mainly by turbulent flow, and their behavior can be extremely complicated even in a simple indoor environment. In the proposed system, a CFD solver is employed to calculate the airflow field and the odor dispersal in the given environment. An odor blender is used to generate the odor with the concentration determined from the calculated odor distribution. Experimental results on presenting odor stimuli synchronously with movie clips show the effectiveness of the proposed system. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 177(1): 65–72, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21087

Synchronized presentation of odor with airflow using olfactory display

This paper reports on an olfactory display system that enables the synchronized presentation of odors with airflow in a virtual reality environment. In the proposed system, computational fluid dynamics simulation is conducted to calculate how an odor released from its source is spread in a given airflow field. An odor vapor with an appropriate concentration is generated and delivered to the user's nose. A sensation that an odor is coming from a specific object is created even though the object per se is not releasing the odor. Experimental results are presented to show the potential of the proposed system.

Introducing Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation into Olfactory Display

An olfactory display is a device that delivers various odors to the user's nose. It can be used to add special effects to movies and games by releasing odors relevant to the scenes shown on the screen. In order to provide high-presence olfactory stimuli to the users, the display must be able to generate realistic odors with appropriate concentrations in a timely manner together with visual and audio playback. In this paper, we propose to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in conjunction with an olfactory display. Odor molecules released from their source are transported mainly by turbulent flow, and their behavior can be extremely complicated even in a simple indoor environment. In the proposed system, a CFD solver is employed to calculate the airflow field and the odor dispersal in the given environment. An odor blender is used to generate the odor with the concentration determined from the calculated odor distribution. Experimental results on presenting odor stimuli synchronously with movie clips show the effectiveness of the proposed system. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 177(1): 65–72, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21087