Tracy Petrie

Minimal basilar membrane motion in low-frequency hearing

Significance To perceive speech, the brain relies on inputs from sensory cells located near the top of the spiral-shaped cochlea. This low-frequency region of the inner ear is anatomically difficult to access, and it has not previously been possible to study its mechanical response to sound in intact preparations. Here, we used optical coherence tomography to image sound-evoked vibration inside the intact cochlea. We show that low-frequency sound moves a small portion of the basilar membrane, and that the motion declines in an exponential manner across the basilar membrane. Hence, the response of the hearing organ to speech-frequency sounds is different from the one evident in high-frequency cochlear regions. Low-frequency hearing is critically important for speech and music perception, but no mechanical measurements have previously been available from inner ears with intact low-frequency parts. These regions of the cochlea may function in ways different from the extensively studied high-frequency regions, where the sensory outer hair cells produce force that greatly increases the sound-evoked vibrations of the basilar membrane. We used laser interferometry in vitro and optical coherence tomography in vivo to study the low-frequency part of the guinea pig cochlea, and found that sound stimulation caused motion of a minimal portion of the basilar membrane. Outside the region of peak movement, an exponential decline in motion amplitude occurred across the basilar membrane. The moving region had different dependence on stimulus frequency than the vibrations measured near the mechanosensitive stereocilia. This behavior differs substantially from the behavior found in the extensively studied high-frequency regions of the cochlea.

The Mole Mapper Study, mobile phone skin imaging and melanoma risk data collected using ResearchKit

Sensor-embedded phones are an emerging facilitator for participant-driven research studies. Skin cancer research is particularly amenable to this approach, as phone cameras enable self-examination and documentation of mole abnormalities that may signal a progression towards melanoma. Aggregation and open sharing of this participant-collected data can be foundational for research and the development of early cancer detection tools. Here we describe data from Mole Mapper, an iPhone-based observational study built using the Apple ResearchKit framework. The Mole Mapper app was designed to collect participant-provided images and measurements of moles, together with demographic and behavioral information relating to melanoma risk. The study cohort includes 2,069 participants who contributed 1,920 demographic surveys, 3,274 mole measurements, and 2,422 curated mole images. Survey data recapitulates associations between melanoma and known demographic risks, with red hair as the most significant factor in this cohort. Participant-provided mole measurements indicate an average mole size of 3.95 mm. These data have been made available to engage researchers in a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort to better understand and prevent melanoma.

Minimally invasive surgical method to detect sound processing in the cochlear apex by optical coherence tomography

Abstract. Sound processing in the inner ear involves separation of the constituent frequencies along the length of the cochlea. Frequencies relevant to human speech (100 to 500 Hz) are processed in the apex region. Among mammals, the guinea pig cochlear apex processes similar frequencies and is thus relevant for the study of speech processing in the cochlea. However, the requirement for extensive surgery has challenged the optical accessibility of this area to investigate cochlear processing of signals without significant intrusion. A simple method is developed to provide optical access to the guinea pig cochlear apex in two directions with minimal surgery. Furthermore, all prior vibration measurements in the guinea pig apex involved opening an observation hole in the otic capsule, which has been questioned on the basis of the resulting changes to cochlear hydrodynamics. Here, this limitation is overcome by measuring the vibrations through the unopened otic capsule using phase-sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. The optically and surgically advanced method described here lays the foundation to perform minimally invasive investigation of speech-related signal processing in the cochlea.

Monte Carlo Modeling of Photon Propagation Reveals Highly Scattering Coral Tissue.

Corals are very efficient at using solar radiation, with photosynthetic quantum efficiencies approaching theoretical limits. Here, we investigated potential mechanisms underlying such outstanding photosynthetic performance through extracting inherent optical properties of the living coral tissue and skeleton in a massive faviid coral. Using Monte Carlo simulations developed for medical tissue optics it is shown that for the investigated faviid coral, the coral tissue was a strongly light scattering matrix with a reduced scattering coefficient of μs’ = 10 cm-1 (at 636 nm). In contrast, the scattering coefficient of the coral skeleton was μs’ = 3.4 cm-1, which facilitated the efficient propagation of light to otherwise shaded coral tissue layers, thus supporting photosynthesis in lower tissues. Our study provides a quantification of coral tissue optical properties in a massive faviid coral and suggests a novel light harvesting strategy, where tissue and skeletal optics act in concert to optimize the illumination of the photosynthesizing algal symbionts embedded within the living coral tissue.

Measurement of in vivo basal-turn vibrations of the organ of Cortiusing phase-sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography

A major reason we can perceive faint sounds and communicate in noisy environments is that the outer hair cells of the organ of Corti enhance the sound-evoked motions inside the cochlea. To understand how the organ of Corti works, we have built and tested the phase-sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (PSFDOCT) system. This system has key advantages over our previous time domain OCT system [1]. The PSFDOCT system has better signal to noise and simultaneously acquires vibration data from all points along the optical-axis [2]. Feasibility of this system to measure in vitro cochlear vibrations in the apex was demonstrated earlier [3]. In this study, we measure the in vivo vibrations of the organ of Corti via round window in live anaesthetized guinea pigs using PSFDOCT. This region of the guinea pig cochlea responds to very high frequencies (10 - 40 kHz). The current vibration noise floor for native organ of Corti tissue is 0.03 nm in this frequency range. Sound-induced vibrations of the stapes, which delivers input to the cochlea, are also measured. The measured vibrations of the organ of Corti demonstrate non-linear compression and active amplification characteristic of sensitive mammalian cochlea.

Development of a phase-sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography system to measure mouse organ of Corti vibrations in two cochlear turns

In this study, we have developed a phase-sensitive Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography system to simultaneously measure the in vivo inner ear vibrations in the hook area and second turn of the mouse cochlea. This technical development will enable measurement of intra-cochlear distortion products at ideal locations such as the distortion product generation site and reflection site. This information is necessary to un-mix the complex mixture of intra-cochlear waves comprising the DPOAE and thus leads to the non-invasive identification of the local region of cochlear damage.

A concise algorithm for detection of vibration from Fourier domain OCT

Optical interferometry using Fourier domain OCT (FD-OCT) can image structures using vibration as the contrast mechanism. An A-scan measurement of light reflected from a tissue at a position x,y yields an intensity spectrum, I(λ), which is sequentially acquired over a short time period, 88 ms, to yield 1000 spectra at equally spaced time points, I(λ,t), while an audio frequency of sound pressure is imparted to the tissue to induce vibration. Analysis converts I(λ,t) into displacement Δz(z,t) of tissue structures along the z axis. Fourier analysis converts Δz(t) at each z into a vibration spectrum, and the amplitude of vibration at the driving audio frequency is specified. This process is repeated for each x position at a given y, to yield an image of vibration amplitude, A(z,x) [nm]. Hence, vibration amplitude becomes the contrast mechanism. This method is not a new idea, but a derivative of Doppler OCT. This report simply provides a concise algorithm in MATLAB for students wishing to implement vibration measurements using FD-OCT. An example shows the vibration of the ossicles of the middle ear viewed through the intact tympanic membrane.

Two dimensional vibrations of the guinea pig apex organ of Corti measured in vivo using phase sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography

In this study, we measure the in vivo apical-turn vibrations of the guinea pig organ of Corti in both axial and radial directions using phase-sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. The apical turn in guinea pig cochlea has best frequencies around 100 – 500 Hz which are relevant for human speech. Prior measurements of vibrations in the guinea pig apex involved opening the otic capsule, which has been questioned on the basis of the resulting changes to cochlear hydrodynamics. Here this limitation is overcome by measuring the vibrations through bone without opening the otic capsule. Furthermore, we have significantly reduced the surgery needed to access the guinea pig apex in the axial direction by introducing a miniature mirror inside the bulla. The method and preliminary data are discussed in this article.

Increasing PS-SDOCT SNR using correlated coherent averaging

Using data from our previously described otoscope1 that uses 1310 nm phase-sensitive spectral domain optical coherence tomography (PS-SDOCT), we demonstrate a software technique for improving the signal-to-noise (SNR). This method is a software post-processing algorithm applicable to generic PS-SDOCT data describing phase versus time at a specific depth position. By sub-sampling the time trace and shifting the phase of the subsamples to maximize their correlation, the subsamples can be coherently averaged, which increases the SNR.