ODOR – Olfactory-based Early Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease using Volatile Organic Compounds in Patients with REM-Sleep Behavior Disorder

ODOR - Olfactory-based Early Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease using Volatile Organic Compounds in Patients with REM-Sleep Behavior Disorder is joint project with the Faculty of Medicine in Linz.

A person’s body odour reflects pathological changes. It can be measured, for example, in exhaled air, sweat or urine. The aim of this project is the olfactory phenotyping of Parkinson’s disease in the prodromal and clinically manifest stages, compared with healthy controls, in order to detect the disease years before the onset of symptoms and to initiate treatment at an early stage. o this end, we are using mobile electrochemical sensors in clinical and public settings, as well as a digital twin for real-time analysis and simulation of disease progression. We anticipate the development of AI-based diagnostic models that will enable pattern-based early diagnosis of of other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.