Using smell as a ‘cure’, Gemelli’s hi-tech helmet at the Maker Faire Rome • il Millimetro

(Adnkronos) – Studying the sense of smell and its countless influences on the brain to help patients affected by other diseases with the still unexplored potential of olfactory rehabilitation. “Our ‘Neuroscent’ project aims to study the objective olfactory capacity and, furthermore, gustatory evaluation, which uses classification based on AI and machine learning of electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements. Going deeper into these aspects is important, let’s see what which happened with Covid and the loss of smell, but also for the damage caused by viral colds or nasal polyposis. By studying the sense of smell and its effects on the brain we can help those suffering from chronic pain, senile dementia, from Parkinson’s, those who have had brain trauma. We have seen that olfactory stimulation helps to improve or aid cognitive activity and therefore pure smell be used as a ‘cure’ for these patients.” Giulio Cesare Passali, associate professor of Otorhinolaryngology Clinic at the A. Gemelli Irccs University Polyclinic Foundation in Rome, explains this to Adnkronos Salute. ‘Neuroscent’ will be presented at the Maker Faire Rome inventors’ fair which opens today in the capital.
The pilot study of the Neuroscent project was awarded 1 million euros from the Pnrr. “What we present today is the evolution of the work already at the Maker Faire last year, which was implemented. We have deepened the research – explains Passali – always using our helmet with over 50 electrodes, which allows us to develop software in able to read electroencephalographic waves stimulated by odors. The work almost aims to ‘photograph’ the electrical activity of the brain while it smells. The objective “is to develop a tool that can support olfactory rehabilitation as a complementary therapy for the management of chronic pain and those who have problems with smell”, underlines Passali. Until today, to demonstrate “that a person has lost their sense of smell, the same statistical analyzes as 40 years ago are used. We want to demonstrate that it is possible to have a device capable of giving scientifically correct results”, specifies Passali who adds: “For our study, which has been awarded 1 million euros in funding from the Pnrr, we will enroll 1,000 healthy subjects”. The work was coordinated by Passali, Giuseppe Maulucci (Department of Neurosciences) and Mariaconsiglia Santantonio, otolaryngologist. The project involved other ‘brains’ of Gemelli-Cattolica: Jacopo Galli of the Otorino Institute and Marco De Spirito of the Institute of Applied Physics. “We want to thank Antonio Gasbarrini, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Professor Giovanni Scambia, scientific director of the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A Gemelli Irccs”, remarks Passali. Alessio Abeltino and Cassandra Serantoni were the investigators of Neuroscent.
A second front of the Neuroscent project was led by Anna Rita Fetoni, director of the Audiology UOC of the Federico II University of Naples. “We wanted to investigate the relationship between tinnitus and olfactory disorders from a holistic perspective that sees the sensory systems harmoniously integrated in the context of the subcortical areas and the limbic system, where each sensation produces its own imprint in the vast sea of ​​emotions and memories. For this – adds Passali – we will carry out, in addition to the set of tests foreseen for the olfactory evaluation, in a subgroup of patients also auditory tests aimed at identifying any causes of the reported tinnitus which is certainly a frequently encountered symptom in the general population, reaching affecting 6 million people in Italy”. Finally, there is also an economic implication in Neuroscent’s future. “With Covid, but it also happens after accidents, the loss of smell is reported by the worker. Our device – concludes Passali – could be of help in the work-related cases that INAIL finds itself having because it can establish whether there ‘It’s this loss of smell.” —[email protected] (Web Info)