Radio waves can boost our sense of smell without contact

Our noses do a quiet job. Every day they flag danger, color our meals, and tie memories to places. A research team in Seoul now reports a straightforward method to temporarily dial up the sense of smell.

The study was led by Yongwoo Jang of Hanyang University with collaborators in South Korea.

Radio waves on the smell nerve

The group focused on the olfactory nerve – the cable that carries odor signals from the top of the nasal cavity into the brain.

Instead of chemicals or implanted electrodes, the researchers used radiofrequency energy at 2.45 GHz to stimulate the pathway for five minutes.

Volunteers sat still while a patch antenna, about 2 inches across, rested roughly 4 inches in front of the forehead. The antenna did not touch skin, and the output ranged from 10 to 20 watts.

Smell boost after short radio waves

Before and after stimulation, participants took a standard odor threshold test that uses pen like odor sticks and the solvent n butanol. This is the threshold component of the widely used Sniffin’ Sticks battery procedure.

Scores rose markedly after one session and stayed higher for about a week. In healthy participants, the average threshold improved from typical baseline values around 9 to near the top of the 16 point scale after stimulation.

The team did not test people with smell loss yet. The next step is to move into patient groups with measurable impairment.

Why radio waves boost smell

Odor detection begins when receptors in the nose send impulses to the olfactory bulb, then onward to higher brain regions. The skull blunts surface currents, so typical electrical stimulation does not easily reach this deep circuit.

Radio signals can pass through tissue and bone without contact and deposit small amounts of energy.

In the lab recordings, the experts saw stronger electrical activity in the 30 to 100 Hz band during and after exposure, a pattern that fits enhanced responsiveness in the olfactory pathway.

Safe but short term effect

The team noted that the antenna does not heat the skin during a short session. The exposure stayed within a narrow window and the device sat off the body.

“This study represents the first time that a person’s sense of smell has been improved using radio waves without any physical contact or chemicals, and the first attempt to explore radio frequency stimulation as a potential therapy for neurological conditions,” said Jang.

“This will help us determine whether the treatment can truly benefit those who need it most.”

Two limitations of the study stand out. The sample included only healthy adults, and the benefit faded after roughly a week without retreatment.

Why smell deserves more attention

Smell problems are common in respiratory infections and were a striking feature of the early COVID 19 waves.

A 2024 review summarizes how olfactory loss can linger and affect daily life for many patients, even as overall risk has fallen since 2020.

Loss of smell also acts as an early flag in neurodegenerative disease. Robust evidence shows that olfactory dysfunction is prevalent in the first stages of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease – often years before motor or memory symptoms surface.

The current treatments for restoring smell are limited. Olfactory training with selected scents can help some people gradually over months, but it seldom leads to an immediate recovery.

Broader implications of the study

If future trials in patients mirror the early pattern in healthy adults, smell clinics could incorporate a short radio wave session. The potential applications range from post-viral anosmia to age-related decline.

Professionals who rely on fine discrimination, from roasters to perfumers, may also be interested in time limited sensitivity boosts for training and calibration.

These applications will need careful boundaries and clear safety data before moving beyond the lab.

Recovering smell with radio signals

The early human data suggest that a brief, contact free radio signal can nudge the olfactory system into a more sensitive state for several days. It is simple, fast, and based on hardware that is easy to standardize.

Loss of smell affects safety, diet, mood, and even memory. Providing clinicians with another safe option for treatment would be valuable, especially for the many people who don’t recover on their own after an infection or injury.

The study is published in APL Bioengineering.

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