Survey of audiological immittance practices.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine current immittance practices and trends over time, reasons why multifrequency (MF) and multicomponent (MC) tympanometry have been underused, and the prevalence of negative patient reactions to acoustic reflex (AR) testing.

Method: Two audiological practice surveys were conducted regarding tympanometry (2008, n = 156) and AR (2009, n = 90).

Results: Most respondents conduct tympanometry and AR threshold (ART) testing.

Optimization of TACT imaging protocols for in situ visualization of cochlear electrode arrays in cat temporal bones.

Objective: To explore the effect of the number of two-dimensional (2D) images and x-ray projection angles on the resolution of reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) volumes of intracochlear electrode arrays in cadaveric cat temporal bones using Tuned Aperture Computed Tomography (TACT).

Design: Multiple 2D radiographs (basis images (BI)) of implanted cadaveric cat temporal bones were acquired using a range of projection angles, and imported into the TACT workbench. 3D volumes were reconstructed using varying numbers of BIs.

High-resolution in situ imaging of cochlear implant electrode arrays in cat temporal bones using Tuned Aperture Computed Tomography (TACT).

Objective: To determine the suitability of Tuned Aperture Computed Tomography (TACT) to generate high-resolution images of intracochlear electrode arrays, in situ, with sufficient anatomic and electrode detail to relate the location of individual electrode contacts to important anatomic landmarks in cat cadaveric temporal bones. The ultimate objective is to develop an imaging technology whereby variations in electrode location, relative to the target neural tissues, can be accurately determined and related to variations in performance with the cochlear implant.

Design: Cat temporal bones were implanted with an experimental scala tympani electrode array and an external fiducial landmark.

Use of Web-based materials to enhance anatomy instruction in the health sciences.

Teaching anatomy by dissection is under considerable pressure to evolve and/or even be eliminated, and curricular hours in the dissection laboratory are decreasing. As a possible means of easing this pressure, an online interactive anatomy program has been created to enhance the dissection experience, observational learning, and three-dimensional comprehension of human anatomy. An assessment was made of the utility of the program in preparing students for dissection laboratories and for examinations.

Imaging microscopy of the middle and inner ear: Part II: MR microscopy.

Anatomic definition of the membranous labyrinth in the clinical setting remains limited despite significant technological advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Recent developments in ultra-high resolution imaging for use in the research laboratory on small animals and pathologic specimens have given rise to the field of imaging microscopy. We have delineated for the first time the labyrinthine structures in a human temporal bone cadaver specimen using these novel techniques.