FIG. 4.

Phantom characterization using LCI. a Photos of the Life/form model used for characterization of the imaging system. The model has anatomically accurate and removable ears, complete with a synthetic tympanic membrane and middle ear compartment. The middle ear compartment can be pressure-controlled to simulate disease states. b Plot showing A-line depth profiles of the phantom at 10 varying middle ear pressures. Membrane displacement trends as expected, changing approximately linearly with respect to pressure from 0–25 mmHg. Note: membrane position has been defined relative to the optical axis along which light is delivered, thus increases in middle ear pressure result in a decrease in membrane position.