In Search A Better Artificial Nose Via Dogs

"When a dog sniffs, Paterson explains, odorant-laden air passes through the nasal vestibule and then through a labyrinth of exquisite complexity. This is nature’s solution to packing a large surface area in a small volume—crucial for delivering odors to  millions of olfactory receptors, specialized proteins embedded in the olfactory epithelium. “Smelling” occurs when odorant molecules bind to these receptors and produce signals that are interpreted by the brain.

To get a closer look at the process, Brent Craven, then a graduate student in mechanical and nuclear engineering, and now an ARL research associate, created a computational fluid dynamics model based on the equations of fluid motion and high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of an actual dog’s airway.

The model yielded some important insights, Paterson reports. “One key finding was an explanation of how odors were transported to the olfactory region within the nasal cavity. Our computer simulations showed that a single passageway, known as the dorsal meatus, was responsible.” In the olfactory region, the air flow over the mucous-coated receptors is remarkably smooth, “albeit pulsatile due to sniffing,” which presents a consistent signal to the receptors. “All of this maximizes efficient transport of odorants to the receptors, and sets up chemical deposition patterns that are interpreted by the brain,” Paterson says.

Partly as a result of this work, Paterson and colleagues were chosen this summer as one of three teams to participate in RealNose, a multi-institutional project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) whose object is to build a mechanical nose that closely simulates the entire canine olfactory system.

As Paterson explains, the RealNose project is a typical “DARPA-hard” program: high-risk, high-payoff.  Should marketable technology evolve from the research, however, it could be tailored to sniff out drugs, explosives, chemical and biological weapons, and even certain types of cancer."

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