Non-Invasive Optical Coherence Tomography Data-Based Quantitative Algorithm for the Assessment of Residual Adhesive on Bracket-Removed Dental Surface.

The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the residual adhesive on orthodontic ceramic bracket-removed dental surface. In orthodontic process, ceramic bracket was repeated debonding physically, then the adhesive remained on the dental surface. The residual adhesive caused a lack of adhesive strength between dental and ceramic bracket. Since commonly used adhesive in orthodontics is translucent, residual adhesive is hard to be detected with conventional microscopes. Therefore, 1310 nm center wavelength swept-source OCT system based on laboratory customized image processing algorithm was used for the precise detection of residual adhesive on tooth surface. The algorithm separates residual adhesive from dental surface by comparing the height of adjacent B-scan images, while providing color-scaled images emphasizing the thickness information of residual adhesive. Finally, the acquired results were compared with microscopic and adhesive remnant index scoring gold standards, while the comparison confirmed the potential merits and the improvements of the proposed method over gold standards.

Optical Interferometric Fringe Pattern-Incorporated Spectrum Calibration Technique for Enhanced Sensitivity of Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography.

Depth-visualizing sensitivity can be degraded due to imperfect optical alignment and non-equidistant distribution of optical signals in the pixel array, which requires a measurement of the re-sampling process. To enhance this depth-visualizing sensitivity, reference and sample arm-channeled spectra corresponding to different depths using mirrors were obtained to calibrate the spectrum sampling prior to Fourier transformation. During the process, eight interferogram patterns corresponding to point spread function (PSF) signals at eight optical path length differences were acquired. To calibrate the spectrum, generated intensity points of the original interferogram were re-indexed towards a maximum intensity range, and these interferogram re-indexing points were employed to generate a new lookup table. The entire software-based process consists of eight consecutive steps. Experimental results revealed that the proposed method can achieve images with a high depth-visualizing sensitivity. Furthermore, the results validate the proposed method as a rapidly performable spectral calibration technique, and the real-time images acquired using our technique confirm the simplicity and applicability of the method to existing optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems. The sensitivity roll-off prior to the spectral calibration was measured as 28 dB and it was halved after the calibration process.

Functional assessment of moisture influenced cadaveric tympanic membrane using phase shift-resolved optical Doppler vibrography.

An elevated relative moisture in the external ear canal and middle ear cavity may predispose to chronic otorrhea and related infections along with abnormal tympanic membrane (TM) vibration patterns. Therefore, phase shift-resolved optical Doppler vibrography (ODV) was used for vibration assessments of moisture influenced cadaveric TM. ODV was applied to generate time resolved cross-sectional and volumetric vibrographs of a cadaveric TM, driven acoustically at several frequencies. In order to analyze the effect of moisture on TM, homogenous moisture conditions were provided by soaking the cadaveric TM specimens in 1× phosphate buffer saline with a pH of 7.4. The TM specimen was exposed to a rapidly switchable frequency generator during the ODV image acquisition. The experiment was conducted for 3 hours and the cadaveric TM was exposed to each frequency with an interval of 30 minutes. Acquired phase shift-resolved ODV assessments revealed a depth dependent vibration tendency between the applied frequencies, along with a decline in the moisture level of the cadaveric TM specimen. Thus, the ODV method can aid our understanding of sound conduction in the middle ear, thus supporting the diagnosis of TM diseases.

In Situ Characterization of Micro-Vibration in Natural Latex Membrane Resembling Tympanic Membrane Functionally Using Optical Doppler Tomography.

Non-invasive characterization of micro-vibrations in the tympanic membrane (TM) excited by external sound waves is considered as a promising and essential diagnosis in modern otolaryngology. To verify the possibility of measuring and discriminating the vibrating pattern of TM, here we describe a micro-vibration measurement method of latex membrane resembling the TM. The measurements are obtained with an externally generated audio stimuli of 2.0, 2.2, 2.8, 3.1 and 3.2 kHz, and their respective vibrations based tomographic, volumetric and quantitative evaluations were acquired using optical Doppler tomography (ODT). The micro oscillations and structural changes which occurred due to diverse frequencies are measured with sufficient accuracy using a highly sensitive ODT system implied phase subtraction method. The obtained results demonstrated the capability of measuring and analyzing the complex varying micro-vibration of the membrane according to implied sound frequency.

Measurement of Vibrating Tympanic Membrane in an In Vivo Mouse Model Using Doppler Optical Coherence Tomography.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has a micro-resolution with a penetration depth of about 2 mm and field of view of about 10 mm. This makes OCT well suited for analyzing the anatomical and internal structural assessment of the middle ear. To study the vibratory motion of the tympanic membrane (TM) and its internal structure, we developed a phase-resolved Doppler OCT system using Kasai's autocorrelation algorithm. Doppler optical coherence tomography is a powerful imaging tool which can offer the micro-vibratory measurement of the tympanic membrane and obtain the micrometer-resolved cross-sectional images of the sample in real-time. To observe the relative vibratory motion of individual sections (malleus, thick regions, and the thin regions of the tympanic membrane) of the tympanic membrane in respect to auditory signals, we designed an experimental study for measuring the difference in Doppler phase shift for frequencies varying from 1 to 8 kHz which were given as external stimuli to the middle ear of a small animal model. Malleus is the very first interconnecting region between the TM and cochlea. In our proposed study, we observed that the maximum change in Doppler phase shift was seen for the 4 kHz acoustic stimulus in the malleus, the thick regions, and in the thin regions of the tympanic membrane. In particular, the vibration signals were higher in the malleus in comparison to the tympanic membrane.

Clinical Utility of Intraoperative Tympanomastoidectomy Assessment Using a Surgical Microscope Integrated with an Optical Coherence Tomography.

Significant technical and optical advances are required for intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) to be utilized during otological surgeries. Integrating OCT with surgical microscopy makes it possible to evaluate soft tissue in real-time and at a high resolution. Herein, we describe an augmented-reality, intraoperative OCT/microscope system with an extended working distance of 280 mm, providing more space for surgical manipulation than conventional techniques. We initially performed ex vivo experiments to evaluate system performance. In addition, we validated the system by performing preliminary clinical assessments of tympanomastoidectomy outcomes in six patients with chronic otitis media. The system evaluated residual inflammation in the region-of-interest of the mastoid bone. Most importantly, the system intraoperatively revealed the connection between the graft and the remnant tympanic membrane. The extended working distance allows otological surgeons to evaluate the status of both the mastoid bone and tympanic membrane during manipulation, affording full intraoperative imaging.