Optimization of a lensless digital holographic otoscope system for transient measurements of the human tympanic membrane.

In this paper, we propose a multi-pulsed double exposure (MPDE) acquisition method to quantify in full-field-of-view the transient (i.e., >10 kHz) acoustically induced nanometer scale displacements of the human tympanic membrane (TM or eardrum). The method takes advantage of the geometrical linearity and repeatability of the TM displacements to enable high-speed measurements with a conventional camera (i.e., <20 fps). The MPDE is implemented on a previously developed digital holographic system (DHS) to enhance its measurement capabilities, at a minimum cost, while avoiding constraints imposed by the spatial resolutions and dimensions of high-speed (i.e., >50 kfps) cameras. To our knowledge, there is currently no existing system to provide such capabilities for the study of the human TM. The combination of high temporal (i.e., >50 kHz) and spatial (i.e., >500k data points) resolutions enables measurements of the temporal and frequency response of all points across the surface of the TM simultaneously. The repeatability and accuracy of the MPDE method are verified against a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) on both artificial membranes and ex-vivo human TMs that are acoustically excited with a sharp (i.e., <100 μs duration) click. The measuring capabilities of the DHS, enhanced by the MPDE acquisition method, allow for quantification of spatially dependent motion parameters of the TM, such as modal frequencies, time constants, as well as inferring local material properties.