Rabbit tympanic membrane thickness distribution obtained via optical coherence tomography

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Anatomy

Background:

• Accurate tympanic membrane (TM) thickness is vital for understanding its functional properties.
• TM thickness variations significantly impact the accuracy of computational models.
• Rabbit TM data provides a valuable comparative model for human TM research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To precisely map the thickness distribution of the rabbit tympanic membrane (TM).
• To analyze variations in TM thickness across different regions.
• To compare rabbit TM thickness with existing human TM data.

Main Methods:

• Utilized optical coherence tomography (OCT) to image ten domestic New Zealand rabbit TMs.
• Computed ten TM thickness distribution maps from the OCT data.
• Quantified TM thickness at the umbo, mid-way annulus, and annulus regions.

Main Results:

• Rabbit TM thickness is greatest at the umbo (150 ± 32 µm).
• Thickness decreases towards the annulus, reaching 38 ± 7 µm mid-way, then increases to 54 ± 19 µm at the annulus.
• Rabbit TM thickness distribution is highly symmetrical, unlike the human TM.

Conclusions:

• Established detailed TM thickness distribution maps for rabbits.
• Highlighted differences in TM thickness between rabbits and humans, particularly at the annulus.
• Findings enhance the understanding of rabbit TM structure and improve numerical TM dynamical models.