Elasticity measurements in scarred rabbit vocal folds using air pulse stimulation.

This study aimed to compare vocal fold elasticity data from a new method for non-invasive analysis by stimulations of the mucosa with short air pulses. The depth of the mucosal deflections is measured with laser pulses by means of a special algorithm. Ten scarred New Zealand rabbit vocal folds and four normal rabbit folds were measured directly after sacrifice. The elastic data were compared to histological sections from the scarred vocal folds analysed by a pathologist. The results showed significantly lower elasticity (higher stiffness) values for the more scarred vocal folds as compared to samples with minor damage (P=0.03). It is concluded that the air pulse stimulation method is a promising tool for non-invasive quantification of vocal fold scarring.