Abstract: A system for noninvasive in vivo functional imaging of the human ear and measurement of nanometer scale motion of the tympanic membrane under various acoustic excitations, and identification of vibration patterns that vary between human subjects in response to sound. By combining spectrally encoded imaging with phase-sensitive spectral-domain interferometry, high-resolution imaging of the membrane surface is obtained within a fraction of a second, through a handheld imaging probe. The detailed physiological data obtained allows measuring a wide range of clinically relevant parameters for patient diagnosis, and provides a new tool for studying middle and inner ear physiology. Use of a line measurement technique, without mechanically scanning the probe beam, enables characteristics of the membrane vibration to be measured, in a time scale of tenths of a second, thereby reducing the possibility of inaccuracy because of movements of the hand-held instrument.

Abstract: A system for noninvasive in vivo functional imaging of the human ear and measurement of nanometer scale motion of the tympanic membrane under various acoustic excitations, and identification of vibration patterns that vary between human subjects in response to sound. By combining spectrally encoded imaging with phase-sensitive spectral-domain interferometry, high-resolution imaging of the membrane surface is obtained within a fraction of a second, through a handheld imaging probe. The detailed physiological data obtained allows measuring a wide range of clinically relevant parameters for patient diagnosis, and provides a new tool for studying middle and inner ear physiology. Use of a line measurement technique, without mechanically scanning the probe beam, enables characteristics of the membrane vibration to be measured, in a time scale of tenths of a second, thereby reducing the possibility of inaccuracy because of movements of the hand-held instrument.