FIRB "SQUARE" project: nano-structured sensors for the detection of the polluting in engine exhaust gases and for indoor air quality monitoring

The present work is a final dissemination of activities carried out and main results obtained in the national founded project Firb "Square". The project is leaded by Centro Ricerche Fiat and it involves the most qualified national public Research Institutes and Universities active in the fields of nanomaterials synthesis, nanotechnology and gas sensors development

Virtual olfactory device in EEG and olfactory conditioning task: An OERP study

Aim of this study is to investigate innovative olfactory applications of cognitive neuroscience in order to improve basic knowledge as well as to develop novel devices for enhancing synaesthetic experiences through olfactory stimulation. We arranged an experiment of olfactive conditioned evoked potentials by analyzing Event Related Potential (ERP) of adult safe volunteers during the conditioning perception of 2 odor stimuli, in an experiment of emotional face recognition task. Specifically, it was developed a paradigm of classical conditioning in which the three types of odors (pleasant, unpleasant, neuter) were conditioned on images of neuter face expression and these results were compared with direct results of olfactory stimulation. The main experimental evidence of our study consists in significant values in ERPs components in direction of a greater amplitude and slower latency in unpleasant condition. On the basis of these results one might assume that an unpleasant odor can modulate, in a cross modal way, the perceptions of emotional and neutral face expressions, and it’s highlighted in an early ERPs component (P1) in conditioning way only for neutral expressions

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF A SUBJECT UNDERGOING AN OLFACTORY STIMULATION.

Method and related system for measuring physiological parameters of a human subject undergoing an olfactory stimulation comprising one or more smelling olfactory stimuli, where by means of said system and according to said method a human subject is undergone to said olfactory stimulation by sending said one or more smelling olfactory stimuli to the human subject; one or more physiological parameters of the human subject are recorded; and said olfactory stimulation and physiological parameters recording are synchronized

Performance Analysis of an MLS-Based Interface for Impulse Response Estimation of Resistive and Capacitive Sensors

This paper presents a performance analysis of a system for electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The system, composed by an analog front-end (AFE) and a custom microcontroller (MCU) board, performs the impulse response (IR) measurement of linear and time-invariant (LTI) systems with pseudo-random excitation signals. As a novelty, a specific AFE for the interfacing of two-terminal resistive and capacitive sensors is covered in detail. The paper proposes, for the first time, a mathematical model to predict the impact of the main noise sources in the measured IR. Thanks to the proposed approach, the AFE and the system’s parameters can be properly designed in order to reduce the error, thus, minimizing the energy-per-error figure of merit (FOM) as well. The AFE is realized as discrete-components circuit and it has been included in a custom MCU-based measurement system as an expansion module. The predicted results from the mathematical model, in terms of noise power, SNR, and measurement error are validated through system-level simulation and experimental measurements. The system performs the IR measurement with 1023 points, showing root-mean-square (RMS) measurement errors of 1% and 1.4% for the tested ADC sampling frequencies of 62.5 kHz and 125 kHz, respectively. These lead to excellent FOM values of 128.9 mJ · % 2 and 252.6 mJ · % 2 that outstand the state of the art

Olfactive Event-Related Potentials and Volatile Organic Compound: from Physiological Response to Olfactory Perception

Several studies, analyzing the sensory components of olfactory stimuli, highlight laboriousness to estimate a precise stimulation interfaced in EEG and the consequent psychophysiological stimulus effect. Olfactory perception, starting with a breath, could elicit neuronal and cortical responses which could be investigated through Olfactory Event Related Potentials (OERPs). Nowadays no correlation has been examined between brain cortical response and physiological activation through respiratory markers. The purpose of this work is to investigate OERPs linked to breath physiology by using a new technological device dedicated to olfactory stimulation in EEG and a novel sensor able to detect biomarkers through the Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs). In order to record OERPs correlated to physiological effect on VOCs emission, we interfaced VOS EEG (MI2014A001344), a patent olfactometer connected to an electroencephalograph and an electronic sensor (e-nose iAQ-2000, Applied Sensor) for VOCs parallel recording. This condition allowed us to control olfactory stimulations and to relate them to psychophysiological responses. Consequently, we detected the olfactory response to record, for each given single step of stimulation, the EEG, the OERPs components and VOCs responses. The experimental settings allowed us to investigated, through OERPs and VOCs, the olfactory response to a neutral stimulus [Vaseline Oil CnH (2n+2)], and to a natural stimulus of rose characteristic odor (PEA, 2-phenyl ethanol C2H4O2). We recruited 15 safe adults (mean age 25 ±5 SD) non-smokers. Subjects performed a passive olfactory behavioral task during the experiment. Afterwards, the subjects filled the VAS on familiar and arousing stimuli dimensions. A general linear model repeated measure was performed on OERPs. Statistical analysis shows main OERPs results on slow potential components, in particular for P3b on Frontal right lobe (PEA p=.003) (PEA*arousing p=.023) in direction of a greater amplitude vs. control; N4 on right frontoparietal (PEA p=.037); and on right frontotemporal (p=.025) positions; N6 on right frontoparietal position (PEA p=.038) (PEA*arousing p=.009) both in direction of greater amplitude in PEA condition. The control exhaled VOCs frequencies are fitted by a normal distribution (single peak fit R2 = .8), PEA administration exhaled VOCs frequencies are fitted by a bimodal distribution (double peak fit R2 = .9). Exhaled VOCs are significantly different, according to the results of different cortical activation induced by olfactory stimulation. Our study suggests that in smell perception (both in odorous and neutral) we can observe the involvement of slow components, related to the breath of the subject, according to the time of perceptual processing. Furthermore, we connected in real time a given stimulus to olfactory cortical activation, analyzed through OERPs, and breath exhalation, as VOCs (physiological response), innovative connection never yet investigate

A 177 ppm RMS Error-Integrated Interface for Time-Based Impedance Spectroscopy of Sensors

This paper presents an integrated circuit for time-based electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of sensors. The circuit exploits maximum-length sequences (MLS) in order to perform a broadband excitation of the sensors under test. Therefore, the measured time-domain EIS is obtained by cross-correlating the input with the output of the analog front end (AFE). Unlike the conventional digital approach, the cross-correlation operation is performed in the analog domain. This leads to a lower RMS error in the measured time-domain EIS since the signal processing is not affected by the quantization noise of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). It also relaxes the sampling frequency of the ADC leading, along with the lack of random access memory (RAM) usage, to a reduced circuit complexity. Theoretical concepts about the circuit’s design and operation are presented, with an emphasis on the thermal noise phenomenon. The simulated performances are shown by testing a sensor’s equivalent model composed of a 50 kΩ resistor in parallel with a 100 pF capacitor. A time-based EIS output of 255 points was obtained with a maximum tested frequency of 500 kHz and a simulated RMS error of 0.0177% (or 177 ppm)

Multi-Sensors Integration in a Human Gut-On-Chip Platform

In the conventional culture systems in vitro, the challenging organoid approach have recently been overcome by the development of microfluidic Organ Chip models of human intestine. The potential future applications of Intestine-on-Chips in disease modelling, drug development and personalized medicine are leading research to identify and investigate limitations of modern chip-based systems and to focus the attention on the gut epithelium and its specific barrier function playing a significant role in many human disorders and diseases. In this paper, we propose and discuss the importance to implement a multi-parameter analysis on an engineered platform for developing an Epithelial Gut On Chip model