Presentation Details
| Novel 3D printed “Smell-Aids” to improve olfactory function in post COVID-19 era Joanne Xu, Lauren Gastineau, Kanghyun Kim, Nidhi Jha, Kai Zhao. Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA |
Abstract
We previously invented non-invasive “Smell-Aids” to improve olfactory function by enhancing intranasal odorant delivery to the olfactory epithelium. However, the initial design was hand-made foam nasal plugs, lacking professional appearance, consistency, and scalability. Here, we attempted to update the prototype fabrication using 3D printing. 2 plug sizes were designed to accommodate different nostril sizes, each incorporating diagonal airflow channels of either small (5mm) or large (7mm) diameters. These updated designs were then 3D printed using the Formlabs Form 3 SLA printer with Silicon 40A photopolymer resin. We tested the prototypes in counter-balanced orders on 18 patients with confirmed olfactory losses (age 19-89y, median=62), majority of whom (11/18=61%) were non-COVID smell losses spanning 3m-19 years. The remaining were post-COVID long haulers (n=7; infected 11/26/20 to 3/11/24; persisted 10 to 61 months, median=52m). All patients achieved comfortable fit with at least one plug size. The 9-item NIH toolbox odor identification score significantly improved with the large channel (7mm) in the upward direction (baseline: 3.2±1.99 vs plug: 4.0±2.03, p<0.05), especially among the non-COVID cohort (2.6±1.99 to 3.6±2.03, p<0.05). No significant improvement was observed with the plug downward direction nor with small diameter plugs. Subgroup analysis on patients who reported distorted smell (parosmia/phantosmia 4/18) showed no significant effect. These results further demonstrated the promise of improving olfactory function through peripheral mechanisms with efficacy depending on the amount of air/odor flow (large channel) redirected to the olfactory region and different patient cohorts.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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