Endomicroscopy of the human cochlea using a micro-optical coherence tomography catheter
Abstract
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is one of the most profound public health concerns of the modern era, affecting 466 million people today, and projected to affect 900 million by the year 2050. Advances in both diagnostics and therapeutics for SNHL have been impeded by the human cochlea’s inaccessibility for in vivo imaging, resulting from its extremely small size, convoluted coiled configuration, fragility, and deep encasement in dense bone. Here, we develop and demonstrate the ability of a sub-millimeter-diameter, flexible endoscopic probe interfaced with a micro-optical coherence tomography (μOCT) imaging system to enable micron-scale imaging of the inner ear’s sensory epithelium in cadaveric human inner ears.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 09, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1038/s41598-021-95991-8
Entities
People
- Biwei Yin
- Guillermo J. Tearney
- Janani S. Iyer
- Konstantina M. Stankovic
Organizations
- United States Department of Defense