A new medical technology is offering fresh hope to millions of people living with partial or complete smell loss. Researchers have successfully tested a prototype device that enables users to perceive odors again. Not by restoring the biological sense of smell itself, but by translating smells into tactile-like sensations inside the nose. The result: the brain learns to interpret these signals as distinct scents.
Loss of smell (anosmia or hyposmia) affects an estimated 20% of the global population and can severely impact quality of life, appetite, safety, and emotional well-being. Unlike hearing or vision, where cochlear implants and retinal prosthetics can restore perception, no comparable medical device exists for smell. This research may mark the first real step toward a sensory prosthesis for olfaction.
How the technology works
Published in Science Advances, the study outlines an elegant system built around sensory substitution. An artificial nose (e-nose) detects volatile molecules and converts them into a digital “odor code.” That code is then transmitted via a small intranasal clip positioned on the septum, which delivers mild electrical stimulation to the trigeminal nerve. This is the neural pathway responsible for sensing temperature, irritation, and touch in the nasal cavity.
Users are not actually smelling the odor in the traditional sense. Instead, the brain receives a new type of signal and gradually learns to associate that unique pattern of sensation with a corresponding scent. By bypassing the olfactory nerve, the device leverages the trigeminal system as an information channel, similar to how visual signals can be translated into touch for blind individuals.
As the authors emphasize, this is a true sensory substitution solution, not a restoration of natural smell. Yet it represents the first credible pathway toward a functional smell-assistive device.
Early study results show promise
The prototype was tested in 65 participants, 13 with normal smell and 52 with anosmia. Remarkably, all participants could detect when odor molecules were present, and many could differentiate between two distinct odors based solely on the electrical stimulation pattern. Importantly, the response was just as strong in patients with anosmia as in those with a normal sense of smell, confirming the trigeminal nerve as a viable and universal channel for sensory encoding.
The researchers now aim to expand the library of odors and stimulation patterns, refine the coding algorithms, and translate the lab setup into a miniaturized, wearable device. If successful, this approach could become the world’s first practical smell prosthesis, enabling users to re-identify food, fragrances, hazards and much more.
With this innovative tech, a future where smell loss is treatable is suddenly much easier to imagine.
