Fart Tracker sensor device

For systemic body odor/halitosis, a handy sensor is very much needed as most sufferers cannot smell their own malodor. Up until recently the technology has possibly not reached a stage to create such a device, but it seems the technology is getting close.

The 'first version' of the Fart Tracker (officially called CH4) may be something of use to the systemic malodor community, as the impression is most suffer from what is known on the forums as 'fecal body odor' ; so the same types of volatiles that cause fecal smells are likely to be of interest to the 'FBO' community.

CH4 from Rodrigo Narciso on Vimeo.

LINKS

CH4 'official' website
CH4 Kickstarter page
CH4 in Gizmag 

The Fart Tracker seems to be a new project by a graduate student. It is not yet been produced for the consumer, but it is available to pay for a pre-device on Kickstarter ($120 ?).

I have not been able to see what it actually detects. If it just detects wind movement then it would be of no use for systemic malodors, but if it detects certain volatiles such as sulfides, then in theory it may be of some use.

The main thing is that detectors that may detect sulfides and amines that may make up most of the volatiles that people with what I call 'FMO3 malodors' now seem to be at an early stage but hopefully will be a thing of the future.

My suspicion is that a device for the metabolic malodor community would need to detect volatiles such as :
dimethylsulfide
hydrogen sulfide
thiols
and many more which I do not wish to rule out at this stage

So I guess the 'Fart Tracker' is unlikely to be of use to people with metabolic malodors yet, but it's on the right track.    

Things to keep in mind about this device (for metabolic malodor community) :
It depends what is it sensing (volatiles ?)
How sensitive and specific is it ?
It's a start-up project.

What the metabolic/systemic malodor community needs :
A test to detect all volatiles likely to cause metabolic malodor
A DNA test program, initially to test FMO3 gene
A trustworthy sensor device
A cure or at least therapies

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By sysbodyodor

crowdfunding, enose sensor, fecal body odor, fmo3, metabolic malodor, systemic body odor, why can't I smell myself ?

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Foodsniffer for detecting body odor/halitosis ?

Foodsniffer

Recently I purchased one of the first consumer enoses, The Foodsniffer. My purpose is to try it out for detecting volatiles emitted from metabolic malodor.

Foodsniffer is in my opinion the first 'consumer enose' that may have potentially been useful for people with metabolic body odor or halitosis. This is because it is designed to detect chemicals that are emitted by rotting food, which I presume my coincide with some (at least) some of the chemicals emitted in 'FMO3 malodor', which would likely be sulfides and amines.

Check it works with your smartphone :
It is nicely designed and the results show up on a smartphone via bluetooth. Unfortunately the android app does not work with my cheap smartphone, so I can't use it. I'm guessing it will work with Iphones and top-end Samsungs. I am hoping that over the app will someday work with my smartphone if they are constantly programming the app to work with other phones. The app does have an android version.

Update about android compatibility :
Foodsniffer say it works with all android phones that have Android version 4.3.0 (Jelly bean) and if the phone has Bluetooth low energy (BLE) inside.

Update 2 (23 apr 2015) :
I got it working with an android tablet that has 4.3 android (jellybean). It seems to give the results as 'fresh/cook well/spoiled', so the results are not much use at the moment. I am not sure if over time they can improve the result data via software updates. Really someone with metabolic malodor needs to know the result for each suspect volatile.

Any use for people with metabolic malodors ?
I have seen cheap gimmick breath checkers etc, that I have no faith in. This is the first consumer enose to market where I thought it may have some merit, though I have low expectations as this technology seems at an early stage of development. I don't know if it tests for trimethylamine.

It depends if it measures each chemical separately and how well it can detect them. I think in technical terms this would mean 'sensitivity' and specificity'. In effect, how good is the sensor ?

So I could not recommend the Foodsniffer for metabolic malodors but at least it's a start and I'm very hopeful in a few years there will be ideal sniffers for the metabolic malodor community.

Keep in mind it's designed to detect rotting food, not metabolic malodors. I'm hoping some of the same volatiles may be common in both those circumstances.

About Foodsniffer :
The company behind foodsniffer seems to be a small Latvian company perhaps associated with a university. I first saw the device on Indiegogo but they now have their own website. The device was promptly dispatched and the packaging and device itself are very professional and stylish. The device sends the results to an app on your smartphone via bluetooth.

Link : Foodsniffer website

Why might this be useful for metabolic malodors ?
The typical pattern is that someone with metabolic malodors cannot smell themselves. So a trusted device to detect odors is essential for this community in my opinion.

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By sysbodyodor

enose sensor, fecal body odor, metabolic malodor, why can't I smell myself ?

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Utrecht Research : emotions make odors

A new research paper suggests that emotions generate chemicals that can cause odors. These are known as chemosignals. It seems that previously it has been connected with negative emotions, and this paper suggests odors can be caused by positive emotions too.

Daily Mail link to emotions causing odor

My view on the possible relevance to this and metabolic malodors :
I have long thought there may be a connection between metabolic malodors and emotions. Not the only connection, but perhaps one trigger. My main current view is that this may be because emotions generate chemicals, and chemicals can affect enzyme function or may have to be 'neutralized' by enzymes themselves. I also do not think it may be limited to emotions, which are only one type of chemicals generated in humans. Even neurotransmitters, hormones etc are probably chemicals which then need to be dealt with by enzymes, or may affect enzyme performance.

For instance FMO3 enzyme oxidizes sulfides and amines of a certain structure. These sulfides and amines are probably abundant in the environment and generated internally too. Their preferred enzyme for being neutralized by the body may be FMO3. So things like emotions or hormones may affect the ability of FMO3 enzyme, or cause an overload of the enzyme (for instance).

So research like this may long-term be part of the metabolic malodor puzzle, though it seems like early days in understanding this aspect of research.

Research abstract : A sniff of happiness (April 2015)

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By sysbodyodor

olfactory, why can't I smell myself ?

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