A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR INTERFEROMETRIC LARYNGOSCOPY

THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THE RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A NEW INTERFEROMETRIC LARYNGOSCOPE FOR BOTH RESEACH AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, AN INNOVATIVE FIBER OPTIC ARRANGEMEENT WILL PROVIDE SPATIALLY RESOLVED SPECKLE INTERFEROGRAMS FOR QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF THE VIBRATORY CYCLE OF THE VOCAL FOLDS. REAL-TIME ANALYSIS OF VOCAL FOLD DYNAMICS WILL ALLOW EARLY DETECTION, IMPROVED DIAGNOSIS, AND A MEANS FOR TRACKING TREATMENT EFFICACY OF ABNORMALITIES IN THE VIBRATORY BEHAVIOR OF THE FOLDS. THIS IS KEY IN SUCCESSFULLY TREATING VARIOUS PATHOLOGIES INCLUDING CYSTS, CARCINOMIC AND NONCARCINOMIC TUMORS OF THE VOCAL FOLDS AND THE LARYNGEAL AND SUBMUCOSAL AREAS. THIS NEW FLEXIBLE PROBE IS MINIMALLY INVASIVE AND IS DESIGNED FOR DIRECT NASAL INSERTION. WITH THE OUTPUT OF THE COMPACT OPTICAL SYSTEM COUPLED TO A TWO DIMENSIONAL, HIGH SPEED, SOLID STATE MATRIX DETECTOR, INSTANTANEOUS ELECTRONIC SPECKLE PATTERN INTERFEROGRAMS OF THE FOLDS ARE ACHIEVABLE. THESE IMAGES ARE IN DIGITAL FORM FOR DIRECT USE OF AUTOMATED ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES CAPABLE OF HIGH RESOLUTION MEASUREMENTS. SPECIFICALLY, IN PHASE I, A PROOF OF PRINCIPLE PROTOTYPE WILL BE ASSEMBLED AS A FEASIBILITY DEMONSTRATION. IN ADDITION, A SYSTEM LEVEL DESIGN WILL BE DONE TO SERVE AS A FOUNDATION FOR TOTAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROBE IN PHASE II. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF SUCH AN INSTRUMENT REACH INTO MANY AREAS INCLUDING MARKETING OF THE UNIT TO HOSPITALS, MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTERS AND PHYSICIANS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE.