Three-dimensional vibrometry of the human eardrum with stroboscopic lensless digital holography

J Biomed Opt. 2015 May;20(5):051028. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.20.5.051028.

Abstract

The eardrum or tympanic membrane (TM) transforms acoustic energy at the ear canal into mechanical motions of the ossicles. The acousto-mechanical transformer behavior of the TM is determined by its shape, three-dimensional (3-D) motion, and mechanical properties. We have developed an optoelectronic holographic system to measure the shape and 3-D sound-induced displacements of the TM. The shape of the TM is measured with dual-wavelength holographic contouring using a tunable near IR laser source with a central wavelength of 780 nm. 3-D components of sound-induced displacements of the TM are measured with the method of multiple sensitivity vectors using stroboscopic holographic interferometry. To accurately obtain sensitivity vectors, a new technique is developed and used in which the sensitivity vectors are obtained from the images of a specular sphere that is being illuminated from different directions. Shape and 3-D acoustically induced displacement components of cadaveric human TMs at several excitation frequencies are measured at more than one million points on its surface. A numerical rotation matrix is used to rotate the original Euclidean coordinate of the measuring system in order to obtain in-plane and out-of-plane motion components. Results show that in-plane components of motion are much smaller (<20%) than the out-of-plane motions’ components.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustics
  • Algorithms
  • Cadaver
  • Computers
  • Hearing
  • Holography / methods*
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
  • Interferometry / methods*
  • Light
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Motion
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sound
  • Stroboscopy / instrumentation*
  • Stroboscopy / methods*
  • Tympanic Membrane / physiology*
  • Vibration

Substances

  • Membranes, Artificial