Pathological alterations of the connective tissue, e.g. in succession of chronic otitis media, impair the acousto-mechanical function of the tympanic membrane (TM). Currently, none of the diagnostic techniques used in clinical practice assesses these tissue changes. By applying polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PSOCT), a depth-resolved imaging technique providing additional tissue-specific contrast, local polarization changes of the fibrous layers of a human TM ex vivo were detected due to the birefringence of collagen fibers. Reconstructing and displaying local retardation from single-input PSOCT measurements enables to distinguish different tissue types which reveals the potential of PSOCT to extend conventional ENT diagnostics.
|