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Updated: May 14, 2026

Optical Coherence Tomography: Imaging Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells In Vivo
Published on: September 22, 2017
In vivo vibrometry inside the apex of the mouse cochlea using spectral domain optical coherence tomography
Simon S Gao1, Patrick D Raphael, Rosalie Wang
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University, 801 Welch Road, Stanford, CA 94305, USA ; Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
Abstract:
Sound transduction within the auditory portion of the inner ear, the cochlea, is a complex nonlinear process. The study of cochlear mechanics in large rodents has provided important insights into cochlear function. However, technological and experimental limitations have restricted studies in mice due to their smaller cochlea. These challenges are important to overcome because of the wide variety of transgenic mouse strains with hearing loss mutations that are available for study. To accomplish this goal, we used spectral domain optical coherence tomography to visualize and measure sound-induced vibrations of intracochlear tissues. We present, to our knowledge, the first vibration measurements from the apex of an unopened mouse cochlea.

