We are pleased to note that the Blavatnik Sensory Disorders Program has made one grant to Massachusetts General Hospital on an emergency basis, to support the development of a simple and safe olfactory test for diagnosis of COVID-19. This is a small, short-term grant that will not impact additional awards from the Sensory Disorders Program.
Mark W. Albers, M.D., Ph.D.
Frank Wilkens Jr. and Family Endowed Scholar in Alzheimer's Disease Research
MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease
Project: COVID Smell Test: Screening and Charting Recovery of Olfactory Function
Dr. Mark W. Albers, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a core faculty member of the Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, has developed a simple and affordable smell test for Alzheimer diagnosis. It uses a card that has a panel of odors released by the user. Loss of smell and taste is a common symptom of the COVID-19 infection. As formerly configured, the test requires interaction with a clinician. A new test measures the degree of smell loss in people who have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Dr. Albers proposes a modification of the card to make it simpler, and—importantly—evaluation through a cell phone app instead of a clinician to detect COVID-19 infection. This reduces human contact and enables large-scale data collection. The funding is mostly to develop the app, which will be done by an existing collaborator. View the COVID Smell Test Survey for more information.
Additional News Coverage:
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-smell-test-being-developed/2131640/
https://boston.cbslocal.com/video/4566046-boston-researchers-developing-coronavirus-smell-test/