Understanding the human hearing process would be helped by quantification of the transient mechanical response of the human ear, including the human tympanic membrane (TM or eardrum). We propose a new hybrid high-speed holographic system (HHS) for acquisition and quantification of the full-field nanometer transient (i.e., >10 kHz) displacement of the human TM. We have optimized and implemented a 2+1 frame local correlation (LC) based phase sampling method in combination with a high-speed (i.e., >40 K fps) camera acquisition system. To our knowledge, there is currently no existing system that provides such capabilities for the study of the human TM. The LC sampling method has a displacement difference of <11 nm relative to measurements obtained by a four-phase step algorithm. Comparisons between our high-speed acquisition system and a laser Doppler vibrometer indicate differences of <10 μs. The high temporal (i.e., >40 kHz) and spatial (i.e., >100 k data points) resolution of our HHS enables parallel measurements of all points on the surface of the TM, which allows quantification of spatially dependent motion parameters, such as modal frequencies and acoustic delays. Such capabilities could allow inferring local material properties across the surface of the TM.
Understanding of the human hearing process requires the quantification of the transient response of the human ear and
the human tympanic membrane (TM or eardrum) in particular. Current state-of-the-art medical methods to quantify the
transient acousto-mechanical response of the TM provide only averaged acoustic or local information at a few points.
This may be insufficient to fully describe the complex patterns unfolding across the full surface of the TM. Existing
engineering systems for full-field nanometer measurements of transient events, typically based on holographic methods,
constrain the maximum sampling speed and/or require complex experimental setups.
We have developed and implemented of a new high-speed (i.e., > 40 Kfps) holographic system (HHS) with a hybrid
spatio-temporal local correlation phase sampling method that allows quantification of the full-field nanometer transient
(i.e., > 10 kHz) displacement of the human TM. The HHS temporal accuracy and resolution is validated versus a LDV
on both artificial membranes and human TMs. The high temporal (i.e., < 24 μs) and spatial (i.e., >100k data points)
resolution of our HHS enables simultaneous measurement of the time waveform of the full surface of the TM. These
capabilities allow for quantification of spatially-dependent motion parameters such as energy propagation delays surface
wave speeds, which can be used to infer local material properties across the surface of the TM. The HHS could provide
a new tool for the investigation of the auditory system with applications in medical research, in-vivo clinical diagnosis as
well as hearing aids design.
Acoustically induced vibrations of the tympanic membrane (TM) play a primary role in the hearing process, in that these motions are the initial mechanical response of the ear to airborne sound. Characterization of the shape and three-dimensional (3-D) displacement patterns of the TM is a crucial step to a better understanding of the complicated mechanics of sound reception by the ear. Sound-induced 3-D displacements of the TM are estimated from shape and one-dimensional displacements measured in cadaveric chinchillas using a lensless dual-wavelength digital holography system (DWDHS). The DWDHS consists of laser delivery, optical head, and computing platform subsystems. Shape measurements are performed in double-exposure mode with the use of two wavelengths of a tunable laser, while nanometer-scale displacements are measured along a single sensitivity direction with a constant wavelength. Taking into consideration the geometrical and dimensional constrains imposed by the anatomy of the TM, we combine principles of thin-shell theory together with displacement measurements along a single sensitivity vector and TM surface shape to extract the three principal components of displacement in the full-field-of-view. We test, validate, and identify limitations of this approach via the application of finite element method to artificial geometries.
We are developing an advanced computer-controlled digital optoelectronic holographic system (DOEHS) for diagnosing
middle-ear conductive disorders and investigating the causes of failure of middle-ear surgical procedures. Our current
DOEHS system can provide near real-time quantitative measurements of the sound-induced nano-meter scale motion of
the eardrum. The DOEHS have been deployed and is currently being tested in clinical conditions, where it is being
optimized for in-vivo measurements of patients.
The stability of the measurement system during examination is crucial as the non-ideal clinical environment presents
disturbances larger than the measured quantities from several domains - thermal, optical, electrical and mechanical.
Examples include disturbances are due to heartbeat breathing, patients head’s motion as well as environment induced
mechanical disturbances (0.1-60Hz, 0.01-100 μm). In this paper we focus on our current progress in the analysis and
implementation of various acquisition strategies and algorithms for minimization of the measurement error due to
mechanical disturbances in a clinic. We have also developed and implemented a versatile and modular otoscope head
(OH) design providing a variety of capabilities for acoustic and displacement measurements of both post-mortem
samples of varying sizes (1-12mm) as well as in-vivo examination of patients. The OH offers hybrid on-axis and off axis
digital Furrier holographic setup for high resolution (λ/35) 4 phase step measurements as well as fast (<0.1ms) single
frame measurements for improved performance in the clinical environment. We also focus on the development of a
mechatronic positioning system (MOP) for aiding in the localization of the TM in patients.
Quantitative techniques to characterize thermomechanical effects of light on canvas paintings are necessary in order to
better understand the deleterious effects that light has on precious art collections in museum exhibitions. In this paper,
we present advances in the development of a customized laser shearography system for temporal characterization of inplane
displacements of canvas paintings when subjected to specific lighting conditions. The shearography system is
synchronized with a thermal IR camera and concomitant measurements of derivatives of displacements along two
orthogonal shearing directions as well as thermal fields are performed. Due to the nature of the measurements, we have
developed real-time temporal phase unwrapping algorithms and high-resolution Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) methods
to calibrate applied shearing levels. In addition, we are developing methods to isolate thermally-induced components
from randomly-induced mechanical vibrations that occur in museum environments by application of IR imaging data.
Representative examples are shown, which illustrate capabilities to measure, detect, and map crack propagation as a
function of lighting conditions and time.
Recent technological advances of miniaturization engineering are enabling the realization of components and systems
with unprecedented capabilities. Such capabilities, which are significantly beneficial to scientific and engineering
applications, are impacting the development and the application of optical metrology systems for investigations under
complex boundary, loading, and operating conditions.
In this paper, and overview of metrology systems that we are developing is presented. Systems are being developed and
applied to high-speed and high-resolution measurements of shape and deformations under actual operating conditions for
such applications as sustainability, health, medical diagnosis, security, and urban infrastructure. Systems take advantage
of recent developments in light sources and modulators, detectors, microelectromechanical (MEMS) sensors and
actuators, kinematic positioners, rapid prototyping fabrication technologies, as well as software engineering.
In this paper, we present advances on our development of an optoelectronic holographic computing platform with the
ability to quantitatively measure full-field-of-view nanometer-scale movements of the tympanic membrane (TM). These
measurements can facilitate otologists' ability to study and diagnose hearing disorders in humans. The holographic
platform consists of a laser delivery system and an otoscope.
The control software, called LaserView, is written in Visual C++ and handles communication and synchronization
between hardware components. It provides a user-friendly interface to allow viewing of holographic images with
several tools to automate holography-related tasks and facilitate hardware communication. The software uses a series of
concurrent threads to acquire images, control the hardware, and display quantitative holographic data at video rates and
in two modes of operation: optoelectronic holography and lensless digital holography.
The holographic platform has been used to perform experiments on several live and post-mortem specimens, and is to be
deployed in a medical research environment with future developments leading to its eventual clinical use.
Current ear examination procedures provide mostly qualitative information which results in insufficient or erroneous
description of the patient's hearing. Much more quantitative and accurate results can be achieved with a holographic
otoscope system currently under development. Various ways of accurate positioning and stabilization of the system in
real-life conditions are being investigated by this project in an attempt to bring this new technology to the hospitals and
clinics, in order to improve the quality of the treatments and operations of the human ear.
The project is focused at developing a mechatronic system capable of positioning the holographic otoscope to the
patient's ear and maintaining its relative orientation during the examination. The system will be able to be guided by the
examiner, but it will maintain the chosen position automatically. To achieve that, various trajectories are being measured
for existing otoscopes being guided by doctors in real medical conditions. Based on that, various kinematic
configurations are to be synthesized and their stability and accuracy will be simulated and optimized with FEA. For
simplification, the mechanism will contain no actuators, but only adjustable friction elements in a haptic feedback
control system. This renders the positioning system safe and easily applicable to current examination rooms. Other
means of stabilization of the system are being investigated such as custom designed packaging of all of the otoscope
subsystems, interferometrically compensating for the heartbeat induced vibration of the tympanic membrane as well as
methods for monitoring and active response to the motion of the patient's head.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.