Augmented olfaction

Grader A: miss

As of 2024-25 no olfactory prosthesis or implant exists; work is proof-of-concept (electrical bulb stimulation, a trigeminal substitution device in Science Advances 2025). No real use by 2025.

Test: D37 health: share of relevant patients, providers or procedures using it by 2022 (hit >=5%; partial <5% real use by 2022 or 5% in 2023-2025; miss no real use by 2025); relevant: patients with smell loss

• Substitution of human olfaction by the trigeminal system (2025): First substitution device tested experimentally; no device yet available to restore olfaction
• Induction of smell through transethmoid electrical stimulation of the olfactory bulb (2018): Early human feasibility only

Grader B: miss

Olfactory augmentation remains lab research: olfactory displays and an implant-style smell-restoration prosthesis (VCU) are at prototype or early human-study stage. No product in routine clinical or consumer health use by 2025. Electronic noses that diagnose disease do not extend the human sense and are not counted.

Test: D37 health: >=5% of relevant users by 2022 = hit; real routine use below 5% = partial; no real use in care by 2025 = miss.

• VCU researchers are developing a device to restore a person's sense of smell (2023): Olfactory implant/prosthesis still in development.
• The Development of a Simple Projection-Based, Portable Olfactory Display Device (2023): Olfactory devices tested on four volunteers: research stage.