Health in a Handbasket

When was the last time you gave any thought to your sense of smell? Smell plays a vital role in our physical and mental health - from our enjoyment of food and perfume to our ability to detect smoke or gas. A decline in our sense of smell is associated with cognitive decline, BUT there might be things we can do to prevent this happening and train our sense of smell. Giada Brianza is developing a smell training device that could help people track and develop their smell abilities over time. 

For more information and to access the transcript:  
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/healthcare-engineering/health-handbasket-episode-1-how-underrated-our-sense-smell 

Date of episode recording: 2023-06-07
Duration: 00:30:07
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Ferdouse Akhter
Guests: Giada Brianza
Producer: Cerys Bradley; Alice Hardy

What is Health in a Handbasket?

If you find the term 'healthcare engineering' a bit bamboozling, don't worry, you're not alone. 'Engineering' usually brings to mind images of bridges and buildings. Healthcare engineering is essentially using maths and science to solve healthcare problems. This covers an incredibly broad range of activities – from 3D-printed prosthetic limbs to artificial intelligence to predict cancer. At the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering, our mission is to develop digital and medical technologies that transform lives across the globe. In the 'Health in a Handbasket' podcast series, we meet the people behind these amazing innovations and how they're making a positive difference. We chat with them about their work, what gets them out of bed in the morning, and how they go to where they are today.