Optical Coherence Tomography and Voice-Related Biomarkers
摘要
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a future tool as a voice-related biomarker in the larynx on a tissue level. We have made an overview of the state-of-the-art possibilities based on the literature and our own experience. To date, no commercial setups are available, and the overview is a basis for this. We introduce the various methods for OCT usable in the larynx, as well as probes where there is great variation. The working distances, axial resolutions, lateral resolutions, pixel resolutions, and imaging speed are presented. A comparison is made to the state-of-the-art of ophthalmology and dermatology. A time-domain OCT setup was presented in 1991 with a movable mirror as a reference arm for ophthalmology. Later on, a Swept Source OCT with a fixed mirror as a reference arm was developed, with a broadband Swept Source and spectrometer detectors. The best probe for indirect laryngoscopy to date is a Swept Source OCT, 200 kHz, vertical-cavity-surface-emitting laser with 200 frames per second and an axial resolution of 9.3 μm. Based on an invited tutorial, an overview of clinical perspectives of OCT for the voice has been provided. With the help of commercial firms, routine tissue diagnostics in the office could become possible for the classification as well as the function of many laryngeal disorders.