PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a growing clinical need for improving the as

Description

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a growing clinical need for improving the assessment of vocal fold tissue properties in vivo, especially dynamic properties measured during human voice production. To address this need, Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), in collaboration with MGH Voice Center, will develop a clinically-viable imaging system that will integrate optical coherence tomography (OCT) with laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV). A transoral endoscope will be developed to assess surface appearance, surface shape, and sub-epithelial anatomy of vocal fold tissue at rest and during phonation. Phase I bench-top testing on fresh calf larynges will include empirical validation of spatial and temporal alignment and optimization of the field of view for each modality. The PSI/MGH team will perform data analysis and assessment of the results to continue to develop effective ways of visualizing the vocal folds using the different modes of system operation. A clinical prototype is proposed to be