A Bionic Nose to Smell the Roses Again: Covid Survivors Drive Demand for a Neuroprosthetic Nose

ABSTRACT

RICHARD COSTANZO STANDS BESIDE A MANNEQUIN HEAD sporting  spectacles decked with electronics and holds a vial of blue liquid up to a tiny sensor.An LED glows blue, and Costanzo's phone displays the word “Windex.” Then he waves a vial of purple liquid and gets a purple light along with the message “Listerine.” • “There won't be Scotch tape on the final model,” says Costanzo, as he rearranges the gear in his lab at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in Richmond. The prototype is a partial demonstration of a concept that he's been working on for decades a neuroprosthetic for smell. The mannequin represents someone who has lost their sense of smell to COVID-19, brain injury, or some other medical condition. It is also intended to show off the sensor, which is the same type used for commercial electronic noses, or e-noses. In the final product, the sensor won't light up an LED but will instead send a signal to the user's brain.