Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

Sci Rep 2016 Dec 1;6:36876

Biomimetic sniffing improves the detection performance of a 3D printed nose of a dog and a commercial trace vapor detector.

Staymates ME, MacCrehan WA, Staymates JL, Kunz RR, Mendum T, Ong TH, Geurtsen G, Gillen GJ, Craven BA

Unlike current chemical trace detection technology, dogs actively sniff to acquire an odor sample. Flow visualization experiments with an anatomically-similar 3D printed dog's nose revealed the external aerodynamics during canine sniffing, where ventral-laterally expired air jets entrain odorant-laden air toward the nose, thereby extending the "aerodynamic reach" for inspiration of otherwise inaccessible odors. Chemical sampling and detection experiments quantified two modes of operation with the artificial nose-active sniffing and continuous inspiration-and demonstrated an increase in odorant detection by a factor of up to 18 for active sniffing. A 16-fold improvement in detection was demonstrated with a commercially-available explosives detector by applying this bio-inspired design principle and making the device "sniff" like a dog. These lessons learned from the dog may benefit the next-generation of vapor samplers for explosives, narcotics, pathogens, or even cancer, and could inform future bio-inspired designs for optimized sampling of odor plumes.