Optical coherence tomography of the middle ear

光学相干断层扫描（OCT）是一种新兴的模态成像中耳。它允许中耳结构和它们对声音的反应通过完整的鼓膜成像。这项技术代表了传导性听力损失诊断的一个令人兴奋的新方向，由于现有成像技术的不足，迄今为止，传导性听力损失的诊断在很大程度上不得不“盲目”进行。作为第一个演示整个中耳和中耳活体振动测量的临床OCT** 成像的研究小组，我们有能力 ** 推进这项技术，并提出了一个多方面的研究计划，以改进和 ** 临床验证我们的原型成像系统。我们将重新设计我们的OCT系统 **，使其成为内窥镜形状因子，增加新的对比机制，并努力提高 ** 图像质量。这些改进将利用OCT成像 ** 技术的许多新进展，包括合成孔径聚焦、压缩传感、偏振敏感 **OCT和基于方差的微血管造影，这些技术以前都没有在耳内使用过。我们努力改善临床系统的工程设计，并将通过构建临床前OCT系统来补充，该系统专门用于测量人类颞骨，这是中耳治疗临床前验证的最重要模型。在临床方面，我们将在 ** 两个地点进行定量和定性的患者研究，以确定该技术在为传导性听力损失患者提供有用的诊断信息方面的有效性。我们的合作者包括来自美国和加拿大的世界领先的中耳力学和疾病专家。在 ** 整个项目过程中，我们将与我们的知识转化合作伙伴 **Conavi Medical密切合作，将该设备推向监管批准并推向市场，** 临床研究和工程的结果将为最终的设备设计和使用提供信息。

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging modality for imaging the middle ear. It**allows middle ear structures and their response to sound to be imaged through the intact**eardrum. This technology represents an exciting new direction in the diagnosis of conductive**hearing loss, an area which to date has largely had to be done "blind" due to the inadequacy**of available imaging technologies. As the first research group to demonstrate clinical OCT**imaging of the whole middle ear and middle ear vibrometry in vivo, we are well placed to**advance this technology and have proposed a multi-faceted research plan to improve and**clinically validate our prototype imaging system. We will be re-engineering our OCT system**into an endoscopic form factor, adding new contrast mechanisms and working to improve**image quality. These improvements will harness many new advances in OCT imaging**technology including synthetic aperture focusing, compressed sensing, polarization-sensitive**OCT and variance-based microangiography, none of which have been used before in the ear.**Our efforts to improve the engineering in our clinical system will be complemented by the**construction of a preclinical OCT system specifically designed for measurements on human**temporal bones, the most important model for pre-clinical validation of middle ear therapies.**On the clinical side we will be pursuing both quantitative and qualitative patient research at**two sites to determine the technology's effectiveness in providing useful diagnostic**information for patients suffering from conductive hearing loss. Our collaborators include**world-leading experts in middle ear mechanics and disease from the US and Canada. Over**the entire course of the project we will work closely with our Knowledge Translation partner,**Conavi Medical, to move the device towards regulatory approval and onto the market, with**the results of clinical research and engineering informing the ultimate device design and use.