SOLID STATE SYSTEM FOR TESTING OLFACTION

我们正在开发一种识别痴呆症大脑的新技术 疾病，包括阿尔茨海默氏症、亨廷顿氏症和帕金森氏症，以及 将它们与其他精神障碍区分开来。我们的方法是基于 检测嗅觉缺陷对痴呆的诊断作用 疾病。 我们将建立一个手持，固态，精密嗅觉仪，为 临床医生办公室。将喷墨微流控技术与半导体相结合 微制造技术，我们将创造紧凑的“气味-只读存储器芯片”每个 保存着数千个单独的气味样本。芯片上的电子产品将 以可编程的、数字的、交互的格式分配单个样品。 一次分配就可以得到一朵精确控制的 受试者气流中的气味蒸气：多个同时发生 分配(高达10 khz)会产生不同的强度，暂时的 模式，或气味混合物。MicroFab的技术可以提供低皮升 精致的空间、体积和时间精度的体积。 这一新技术将推动临床诊断和基础研究的发展 技术气味的研究一直受到这个问题的阻碍 管理好经济刺激计划。我们的固态系统将消除这一点 屏障，开创嗅觉基础研究和临床新局面 诊断。 建议的商业应用：一种研究口径的嗅觉仪 微点胶技术可以取代目前正在使用的所有系统 关于嗅觉的研究。研究嗅觉的基础和应用研究人员 都会是潜在的客户。我们的手持式“办公风格” 诊断单元将成为神经科医生使用的目标， 精神科医生或全科医生办公室进行早期筛查 有患痴呆症风险的患者。

We are developing a new technology for identifying dementing brain disorders, including Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's and for differentiating them from other mental disorders. Our method is based on detecting the olfactory deficits that are diagnostic of the dementing diseases. We will build a hand-held, solid-state, precision olfactometer for the clinician's office. By combining ink-jet microfluidics with semiconductor microfabrication techniques, we will create compact "odor-ROM chips" each holding thousands of individual odor samples. On-chip electronics will dispense single samples in a programmable, digital, interactive format. One dispense will give a single, precisely-controlled "cloud" of odoriferous vapor in the subject's airstream: multiple simultaneous dispenses (up to 10 KHz) will give different intensities, temporal patterns, or odor mixtures. MicroFab's technology dispenses low picoliter volumes with exquisite spatial, volumetric, and temporal precision. Both clinical diagnostics and basic research will be advanced by this new technology. Research on smell has always been handicapped by the problem of managing the stimulus. Our solid-state system will remove this barrier, opening new vistas in basic olfactory research and clinical diagnostics. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: A research-caliber olfactometer based on microdispensing technology could replace all systems now in use for research on olfaction. Basic and applied researchers studying olfaction would all be potential customers. Our hand-held, "office-style" diagnostic unit would be targeted for use in the neurologists, psychiatrist, or general physician's office for early screening of patients at risk for dementing diseases.