Virtual temporal bone simulators and their use in surgical training: a narrative review.

Objective: Temporal bone dissection is a difficult skill to acquire, and the challenge has recently been further compounded by a reduction in conventional surgical training opportunities during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Consequently, there has been renewed interest in ear simulation as an adjunct to surgical training for trainees. We review the state-of-the-art virtual temporal bone simulators for surgical training.

Transtympanic Visualization of Cochlear Implant Placement With Optical Coherence Tomography: A Pilot Study.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the ability of transtympanic middle ear optical coherence tomography (ME-OCT) to assess placement of cochlear implants (CIs) in situ.

Patient: A 72-year-old man with bilateral progressive heredodegenerative sensorineural hearing loss due to work-related noise exposure received a CI with a slim modiolar electrode for his right ear 3 months before his scheduled checkup.

Intervention: A custom-built swept source ME-OCT system (λo = 1550 nm, ∆λ = 40 nm) designed for transtympanic middle ear imaging was used to capture a series of two- and three-dimensional images of the patient's CI in situ.

Optical Clearing Agents for Optical Imaging Through Cartilage Tympanoplasties: A Preclinical Feasibility Study.

Hypothesis: Optical clearing agents (OCAs) can render cartilage tympanoplasty grafts sufficiently transparent to permit visualization of middle ear structures in an operated ear using optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging.

Methods: Pieces of human tragal cartilage were treated with glycerol, a commonly used OCA. A reference reflector was imaged with OCT through the tympanoplasty as it cleared and the optical attenuation of the graft was measured.

Emerging artificial intelligence applications in otological imaging.

Purpose Of Review: To highlight the recent literature on artificial intelligence (AI) pertaining to otological imaging and to discuss future directions, obstacles and opportunities.

Recent Findings: The main themes in the recent literature centre around automated otoscopic image diagnosis and automated image segmentation for application in virtual reality surgical simulation and planning. Other applications that have been studied include identification of tinnitus MRI biomarkers, facial palsy analysis, intraoperative augmented reality systems, vertigo diagnosis and endolymphatic hydrops ratio calculation in Meniere's disease.