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High-Resolution Imaging of the Middle Ear With Optical Coherence Tomography
A Feasibility Study
Costas Pitris, PhD;
Kathleen T. Saunders, BS;
James G. Fujimoto, PhD;
Mark E. Brezinski, MD, PhD
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127:637-642.
Background Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new medical imaging technology
that generates cross-sectional images of tissue microstructure with micron-scale
resolution. Optical coherence tomography is analogous to ultrasound, measuring
the intensity of infrared light rather than acoustical waves.
Objective To demonstrate the feasibility of using OCT for ultra–high-resolution
imaging of the middle ear via ex vivo imaging studies of human tissue.
Design Images of the tympanic membrane and middle ear were acquired ex vivo,
through the ear canal, without perforating the tympanic membrane.
Materials Four excised intact temporal bones and the auditory apparatus were harvested
from cadavers and imaged fresh, without previous fixation.
Results The resulting images were compared with the gross sample and verified
the ability of OCT to delineate relevant structures, such as the tympanic
membrane and its sublayers, and the middle ear ossicles, nerves, and tendons
at higher resolutions than possible with standard clinical imaging technologies.
Conclusion The ability of OCT to produce high-resolution images of tissue structure,
without contact and in real time, as well as its ability to be integrated
with endoscopes, suggests that this technology could become a useful modality
for the diagnosis and management of a range of clinical middle ear abnormalities.
From the Research Laboratory of Electronics and the Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
(Drs Pitris and Fujimoto); Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass (Drs Pitris
and Brezinski); and Department of Orthopedics, Brigham and Women's Hospital,
Boston (Ms Saunders and Dr Brezinski).
Corresponding author and reprints: James G. Fujimoto, PhD, Department
of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 50 Vassar St, Room 36-345, Cambridge, MA 02139.
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