Otitis media (OM) is the most common illness in children in the United States.Three-fourths of children under the age of three have OM at least once. Children withchronic OM, including OM with effusion and recurrent OM, will often have conductivehearing loss and communication difficulties, and will need surgical treatment. Recentclinical studies state that almost all chronic OM cases are accompanied by a bacterialbiofilm behind the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Biofilms are typically very thin,making them difficult to be recognized using a regular otoscope. However, lowcoherenceinterferometry (LCI) is capable of detecting and quantifying thismicrostructure. The goal of this research was to design a portable system integrating LCIwith a standard video otoscope to detect the presence of biofilms and provide quantitativeinformation about the middle ear to assist physicians in diagnosing middle ear infections.In the future, it is expected such quantitative information will direct and monitortreatment protocols. The system uses a super-luminescent diode centered at 940 nm witha bandwidth of 60 nm and the axial resolution of ~ 4.5 um in tissue. Axial scans areacquired in vivo at the rate of 2 kHz and using a custom automated algorithm classifiedaccording to microstructural features to provide statistical determination for OM status.Preliminary results are described in a rat OM model and in humans.
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