Smell immediately tells you without mistake what you need to know;
Italo Calvino
there are no words, no more precise information
than what the nose perceives.
The electronic nose is a complex instrument whose operation emulates the structure of the human nose.
The instrument consists of an array of sensors with partial specificity and an appropriate recognition system, capable of recognising simple or complex odours. It does not perform a chemical analysis of the odour analysed, but the partially selective sensor array produces an olfactory fingerprint, following a specific training phase.
The electronic nose has the great advantage that it can be used for continuous analysis, even of sources that are difficult to model.
The Laboratorio Olfattometrico as for several years been conducting research aimed at developing specific electronic noses for environmental monitoring.
This activity has led the laboratory to have at its disposal sophisticated instruments that, used in the field, make it possible to obtain reliable and repeatable answers even in variable atmospheric conditions.
In addition, the Laboratorio Olfattometrico as specialised in the use of electronic noses in the medical/diagnostic field, for the early and non-invasive detection of tumour pathologies and develop specific applications in the field of quality control as well: electronic noses can be used for food product authentication, regulatory compliance verification, shelf-life assessment and performance verification of commercial products.