Invited: Imaging Tympanic Membrane Oscillations

Our tympanic membrane converts sound pressure waves into mechanical vibrations at the middle and inner ear, and its vibrational patterns correlate strongly with a range of pathologies and hearing disorders. Here, we image tympanic membrane oscillations in a human volunteer using interferometric spectrally encoded endoscopy, which combines high-speed spectral interferometry with a compact imaging probe designed to transmit the acoustic excitation signal and to scan the tympanic membrane. The study could serve for developing a compact imaging system for noninvasive diagnosis of the outer and middle ear.