Artificial olfactory system
First Claim
1. A sensor element for an artificial olfactory system, comprising:
- a sensor substrate;
a layer of surface area increasing material on a surface of the substrate;
a coating of odorant molecule attachment material on the layer of surface area increasing material;
wherein the surface area increasing material is an aerogel, a porous carbon, or a nanotube.
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Abstract
The artificial olfactory system is an ultra-sensitive and selective odor sensing system for the detection of odorant molecules down to the part per trillion level. The system includes multiple ultra sensitive frequency sensors, such as sensors based on piezoelectric substrates or micro-machined resonators, capable of detecting frequency changes resulting from the interaction of odorant molecules with the sensor. A coating applied to the sensor greatly increases the surface of interaction between the odorant molecules or biological agents and the sensor. An array of these sensors, each responding to the interaction of an odorant molecule species but in a different manner, results in different frequency shifts. An ultra sensitive frequency measurement device measures as small as part per billion shift in frequency. An intelligent processor based on artificial neural networks and other intelligent signal processing system detects, recognizes, and generalizes the signature resulting from the collective response of all the sensors.
84 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A sensor element for an artificial olfactory system, comprising:
- a sensor substrate;
a layer of surface area increasing material on a surface of the substrate;
a coating of odorant molecule attachment material on the layer of surface area increasing material;
wherein the surface area increasing material is an aerogel, a porous carbon, or a nanotube. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- a sensor substrate;
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9. An artificial olfactory system, comprising:
- a plurality of sensor elements, each comprising a sensor substrate, a layer of surface area increasing material on a surface of the substrate, a coating of odorant molecule attachment material on the layer of surface area increasing material, wherein the surface area increasing material is an aerogel, a porous carbon, or a nanotube;
a measurement device connected to the plurality of sensor elements to detect changes produced by the presence of odorant molecules;
a signal processor connected to the measurement device. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
- a plurality of sensor elements, each comprising a sensor substrate, a layer of surface area increasing material on a surface of the substrate, a coating of odorant molecule attachment material on the layer of surface area increasing material, wherein the surface area increasing material is an aerogel, a porous carbon, or a nanotube;
Specification