New Citations | How Olfaction Affects Resting Brain Activity & More!

Smelling your Emotional State

Our sense of smell delivers important information to our brains, such as whether or not food is bad, or reminding us of a pleasant memory (crisp, fall air, anyone?). This fMRI-based study recorded PPG using a Photoplethysmograph Transducer for MRI connected to a PPG100C-MRI Amplifier. A differential pressure transducer continuously recorded variations in nostril airflow as various smells were pumped to subjects. Brain activity and PPG measurements recorded how subjects responded to different smells within the MRI environment. Read the full study: Sustained effects of pleasant and unpleasant smells on resting state brain activity (H. Carlson, J. Leitão, S. Delplanque, I. Cayeux, D. Sander, P. Vuilleumier)

Noninvasive Separation of Maternal and Fetal PPG in Utero

Knowing a fetus’ vital statistics can literally save lives, but current noninvasive PPG measurements of a fetus are not very accurate, due to interference from the mother’s PPG signal. Researchers recorded a reference PPG with the BIOPAC Human Pulse Oximetry System and devised a method to separate maternal and infant signals for clear identification. Read the full study: QRS triggered averaging for superimposed PPG separation (M. Schubert, F. Samann, T. Schanze)

Using Wearable Technology to triage a hemorrhaging injury

Establishing the triage order of multiple critically ill patients can save more lives when doctors work  efficiently. A recent study tracked vital signs and measured (theoretical) exsanguination using a variety of external and internally located measuring devices. BIOPAC’s TSD270A transreflectance transducer and veterinary pulse oximeter tracked animal PPG on porcine test subjects. Read the full study: Enabling the assessment of trauma-induced hemorrhage via smart wearable systems (J. Zia, J. Kimball, C. Rolfes, J. Hahn, O. Inan)