Sony Corp. developed a device that measures a person's sense of smell. People put their noses into the hole and smell 40 odors. In spring of next year, Kenji Izawa Sony Corp. will begin selling a device to medical institutions that can measure one's sense of smell and could detect dementia early on, the electronics giant announced on Oct. 5.
A person's sense of smell is believed to decline in the early stages of dementia.
The device is about 40 centimeters in length and width.
It emits five types of odors such as a flower, fruit and the smell of something rotting. The equipment can produce a total of 40 odors by changing the strength of these emissions.
People smell these odors, and their sense of smell is measured. The cartridge containing the source of the odor is airtight to prevent leakage. The device has a deodorizing function that allows the operator to try different smells one after another.
The estimated market price is about 2.3 million yen $16,000 olfactory measurement is usually done by soaking a paper with a liquid that gives off an odor and sniffing it in order of weakest to strongest. This takes time and is a lot of work.
The test must be adjusted to the air conditioning so that multiple odors do not mix.
Sony said the new device could shorten the measurement time to one-third from the current standard of around 30 minutes.
Sony is considering applying the device to the entertainment business, with a virtual metaverse space in mind.