Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Rose (Restoring Odorant detection and recognition in Smell dEficits)
Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-08-31
The restoration of olfactory function in people who have lost it is a problem that raises several challenges from the scientific and technological points of view. Our project aims to provide the very first steps towards radically new technology to achieve this.
Odors are sources of both pleasure and social bonding, they contribute to our emotional well-being with reduced or absent olfaction being linked to depression. Olfactory loss is associated with significant psychological distress, with sufferers making comments such as: “handicapped for life”, “now I try to smell absolutely everything to the point of going mad. Subtle smells like a well-aired room, clean laundry, I miss terribly”, “reduced sexual desire” and “obsessed with not smelling bad”. Olfactory deficits also impair our relationship with food; our primeval sense of smell distinguishes between edible and inedible foods, has synergy with taste and is integral to gustatory pleasure. The loss of the sense of smell causes serious changes in appetite and diet “I don’t know what to eat anymore. I don’t fancy anything”, “I eat more fatty food, more salt, more sugar, to get some taste” with consequences for weight gain, weight loss and an overall reduction in general health. Loss of smell also increases the risk of household accidents (detection of noxious gases and smoke) which can also cause psychological distress: “not smelling when a saucepan burns is dangerous”, “I worry that I won’t smell smoke in case of fire”.
It is estimated that partial or total loss of smell arising from a variety of causes: trauma; congenital deficits; age; viral infection and other pathologies; concerns about 20% of the population. This represents several million people in Europe, and given that olfactory loss is a frequent symptom of COVID-19 this prevalence may increase. The economic and social costs caused by this sensory impairment are therefore very high. Restoring olfaction –completely or even partially –is important for society, but a difficult challenge for science: a technological device capable of restoring odorant detection and recognition has yet to be developed.
Restoration of olfaction has been attempted through medication, surgery, and more recently sensory training. However, although solutions exist, they only work for a limited number of patients—most continue to live without olfaction and deal with a degraded quality of life. The main objective of Rose is to provide new knowledge on both artificial and natural olfaction. The target is a novel and ambitious science-to-technology breakthrough that will enable people with olfactory deficits to recover the ability to both detect and recognize a limited number of smells. Rose will generate new knowledge on artificial stimulation of the human brain and will develop a proof-of-concept device to restore limited odor perception.
Odors are sources of both pleasure and social bonding, they contribute to our emotional well-being with reduced or absent olfaction being linked to depression. Olfactory loss is associated with significant psychological distress, with sufferers making comments such as: “handicapped for life”, “now I try to smell absolutely everything to the point of going mad. Subtle smells like a well-aired room, clean laundry, I miss terribly”, “reduced sexual desire” and “obsessed with not smelling bad”. Olfactory deficits also impair our relationship with food; our primeval sense of smell distinguishes between edible and inedible foods, has synergy with taste and is integral to gustatory pleasure. The loss of the sense of smell causes serious changes in appetite and diet “I don’t know what to eat anymore. I don’t fancy anything”, “I eat more fatty food, more salt, more sugar, to get some taste” with consequences for weight gain, weight loss and an overall reduction in general health. Loss of smell also increases the risk of household accidents (detection of noxious gases and smoke) which can also cause psychological distress: “not smelling when a saucepan burns is dangerous”, “I worry that I won’t smell smoke in case of fire”.
It is estimated that partial or total loss of smell arising from a variety of causes: trauma; congenital deficits; age; viral infection and other pathologies; concerns about 20% of the population. This represents several million people in Europe, and given that olfactory loss is a frequent symptom of COVID-19 this prevalence may increase. The economic and social costs caused by this sensory impairment are therefore very high. Restoring olfaction –completely or even partially –is important for society, but a difficult challenge for science: a technological device capable of restoring odorant detection and recognition has yet to be developed.
Restoration of olfaction has been attempted through medication, surgery, and more recently sensory training. However, although solutions exist, they only work for a limited number of patients—most continue to live without olfaction and deal with a degraded quality of life. The main objective of Rose is to provide new knowledge on both artificial and natural olfaction. The target is a novel and ambitious science-to-technology breakthrough that will enable people with olfactory deficits to recover the ability to both detect and recognize a limited number of smells. Rose will generate new knowledge on artificial stimulation of the human brain and will develop a proof-of-concept device to restore limited odor perception.
The first few years of the project were devoted to developing (i) artificial olfactory sensors capable of detecting odorant molecules, and (ii) different types of neural stimulators. In addition, studies involving human subjects were launched to use and validate the stimulation protocols. Initially, these experiments focused only on the stimulation part of the future device, with the sensor part being tested in the laboratory. Subsequently, we combined the two technologies (sensors and stimulators) into a single device, resulting in a first version of our proof of concept. We also expanded a database of odors characterized by their perceptual and emotional properties in order to best represent the olfactory space.
In addition, two surveys were conducted among people with olfactory deficits to highlight the real needs of patients with smell disorders. Furthermore, a workshop organized with and for patients helped us understand the type of proof of concept that people with olfactory disorders expect from the Rose project. Moreover, several communication and dissemination activities were carried out (radio and television media, public conferences, scientific congresses, publications, etc.).
Evaluations of patients with olfactory disorders continued during the last two years of the project, resulting in the creation of a proof of concept that can be used in the laboratory. This proof of concept incorporated the latest technological advances of the project and took into account patient feedback gathered during various workshops and discussions. To date, the proof of concept is at TRL3-4 level, and one prospect would be to take it to TRL6 by testing it in a patient environment.
In addition, two surveys were conducted among people with olfactory deficits to highlight the real needs of patients with smell disorders. Furthermore, a workshop organized with and for patients helped us understand the type of proof of concept that people with olfactory disorders expect from the Rose project. Moreover, several communication and dissemination activities were carried out (radio and television media, public conferences, scientific congresses, publications, etc.).
Evaluations of patients with olfactory disorders continued during the last two years of the project, resulting in the creation of a proof of concept that can be used in the laboratory. This proof of concept incorporated the latest technological advances of the project and took into account patient feedback gathered during various workshops and discussions. To date, the proof of concept is at TRL3-4 level, and one prospect would be to take it to TRL6 by testing it in a patient environment.
No technological solutions for the recovery of human olfaction currently exist. We have yet to develop devices to restore the sense of smell, primarily because scientific knowledge linking artificial systems to human biological olfaction is lacking. All progress we are making, and knowledge we are gaining, in both the artificial perception of human-relevant odours and non-olfactory human stimulation, is therefore beyond “state-of-the-art”. The socio-economic impact of a device that can restore even a limited sense of smell, is very large, given the number of people suffering olfactory loss, the cost of providing them with the psychological and medical support that they need, and the cost involved with household accidents aggravated or caused by anosmia. However, there is also a wider impact: if better artificial odour sensors are developed these can be used in a wide spectrum of commercial, medical and social applications; miniaturised technology developed for stimulation may also be adapted to other applications. The project is still young, so the socio-economic impact so far is minimal, but the outreach activities demonstrate the keen interest of the general public in the project.