Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2020-2021)

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging modality for imaging the middle ear. Itx000D
allows middle ear structures and their response to sound to be imaged through the intactx000D
eardrum. This technology represents an exciting new direction in the diagnosis of conductivex000D
hearing loss, an area which to date has largely had to be done "blind" due to the inadequacyx000D
of available imaging technologies. As the first research group to demonstrate clinical OCTx000D
imaging of the whole middle ear and middle ear vibrometry in vivo, we are well placed tox000D
advance this technology and have proposed a multi-faceted research plan to improve andx000D
clinically validate our prototype imaging system. We will be re-engineering our OCT systemx000D
into an endoscopic form factor, adding new contrast mechanisms and working to improvex000D
image quality. These improvements will harness many new advances in OCT imagingx000D
technology including synthetic aperture focusing, compressed sensing, polarization-sensitivex000D
OCT and variance-based microangiography, none of which have been used before in the ear.x000D
Our efforts to improve the engineering in our clinical system will be complemented by thex000D
construction of a preclinical OCT system specifically designed for measurements on humanx000D
temporal bones, the most important model for pre-clinical validation of middle ear therapies.x000D
On the clinical side we will be pursuing both quantitative and qualitative patient research atx000D
two sites to determine the technology's effectiveness in providing useful diagnosticx000D
information for patients suffering from conductive hearing loss. Our collaborators includex000D
world-leading experts in middle ear mechanics and disease from the US and Canada. Overx000D
the entire course of the project we will work closely with our Knowledge Translation partner,x000D
Conavi Medical, to move the device towards regulatory approval and onto the market, withx000D
the results of clinical research and engineering informing the ultimate device design and use.