Optical coherence tomography for the diagnosis and evaluation of human otitis media.

We report the application of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to the diagnosis and evaluation of otitis media (OM). Whereas conventional diagnostic modalities for OM, including standard and pneumatic otoscopy, are limited to visualizing the surface of the tympanic membrane (TM), OCT effectively reveals the depth-resolved microstructure below the TM with very high spatial resolution, with the potential advantage of its use for diagnosing different types of OM. We examined the use of 840-nm spectral domain-OCT (SD-OCT) clinically, using normal ears and ears with the adhesive and effusion types of OM. Specific features were identified in two-dimensional OCT images of abnormal TMs, compared to images of healthy TMs. Analysis of the A-scan (axial depth scan) identified unique patterns of constituents within the effusions. The OCT images could not only be used to construct a database for the diagnosis and classification of OM but OCT might also represent an upgrade over current otoscopy techniques.