At-home smell test to spot early Alzheimer’s changes
Official title: Digital Accessible Remote Olfactory Mediated Health Assessments forPreclinical AD
Funded at Aromha, INC. · NIH-11069429 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project offers a web app and mailed smell cards so people at risk for memory decline can do an easy at-home test that may reveal early brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Aromha, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Potomac, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2018 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,249,670 |
| NIH project number | 2R42AG062130-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11069429 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are older adults or people with family history or concerns about memory who are willing to complete at-home smell tests and use a web app.
✕Less likely to help
People with chronic smell loss from other causes, advanced dementia, or without reliable internet or mail access may not benefit from this at-home screening approach.
What this research studies
You would use a web app paired with mailed natural-smelling test cards to do short, self-administered tasks for identifying, remembering, and distinguishing odors at home. The program combines results from all three tests using a machine-learning score called OPID18noguess that was linked to smaller hippocampal volume in people with early memory changes. The test was validated in earlier work and is being scaled to collect large datasets and speed up recruitment into preclinical Alzheimer’s trials. Participation mainly requires following simple smell test steps on your phone or computer and returning results through the app.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help detect Alzheimer’s-related changes earlier and make it easier for people to join prevention or early-intervention trials.
How similar studies have gone: Olfactory testing has previously been linked to Alzheimer’s stages and the AROMHA at-home test was validated in Phase II, but scaling it with machine-learning outcomes for widespread remote screening is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Aromha, INC.
Potomac, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Reineke, Sean — Aromha, INC.
- Study coordinator: Reineke, Sean
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.