OCT Imaging Tool Could Improve Diagnosis of Hearing Loss
Researchers have adapted the low-cost OCT imaging method developed for ophthalmology and used it to visualize tiny structures in the human inner ear.
Researchers have adapted the low-cost OCT imaging method developed for ophthalmology and used it to visualize tiny structures in the human inner ear.
New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Massachusetts Eye and Ear indicates that the blood pressure drug losartan may benefit patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a hereditary condition associated with vestibular schwannomas, or noncancerous tumors along the nerves in the brain that are involved with hearing and balance.
Based on years of scientific research into the root causes of the condition, the device uses precisely timed sounds and weak electrical pulses that activate touch-sensitive nerves, both aimed at steering damaged nerve cells back to normal activity.