Endoscopic optical coherence tomography with wide field-of-view for the morphological and functional assessment of the human tympanic membrane

An endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with a wide field-of-view of 8 mm is presented, which combines the image capability of endoscopic imaging at the middle ear with the advantages of functional OCT imaging, allowing a morphological and functional assessment of the human tympanic membrane. The endoscopic tube has a diameter of 3.5 mm and contains gradient-index optics for simultaneous forward-viewing OCT and video endoscopy. The endoscope allows the three-dimensional visualization of nearly the entire tympanic membrane. In addition, the oscillation of the tympanic membrane is measured spatially resolved and in the frequency range between 500 Hz and 5 kHz with 125 Hz resolution, which is realized by phase-resolved Doppler OCT imaging during acoustical excitation with chirp signals. The applicability of the OCT system is demonstrated in vivo. Due to the fast image acquisition, structural and functional measurements are only slightly affected by motion artifacts.