Clinical utility of laser-Doppler vibrometer measurements in live normal and pathologic human ears

The laser-Doppler vibrometer (LDV) is a research tool that can be used to quickly measure the sound-induced velocity of the tympanic membrane near the umbo (the inferior tip of the malleus) in live human subjects and patients. In this manuscript we demonstrate the LDV to be a sensitive and selective tool for the diagnosis and differentiation of various ossicular disorders in patients with intact tympanic membranes and aerated middle ears. Patients with partial or total ossicular interruption or malleus fixation are readily separated from normal-hearing subjects with the LDV. The combination of LDV measurements and air-bone gap can distinguish patients with fixed stapes from those with normal ears. LDV measurements can also help differentiate air-bone gaps produced by ossicular pathologies from those associated with pathologies of inner-ear sound conduction such as a superior semicircular canal dehiscence.