http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2014/07/high-res-images-inner-ear-could-lead-new-hearing-loss-therapies
Understanding how hearing works has long been hampered by challenges associated with seeing inside the inner ear, but technology being developed by a team of researchers that includes a biomedical engineer from Texas A&M University is generating some of the most detailed images of the inner ear to date while offering new insight into the mechanics of hearing that could lead to new therapies for hearing loss.
Employing a technique that generates high-resolution, three-dimensional images, Brian Applegate, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M, and colleagues from Stanford University are mapping the tissues within the cochlea, the portion of the inner ear responsible for hearing. Their research, which appears in the Journal of Neurophysiology, could lead to breakthroughs in understanding of cochlear function, Applegate says.
Understanding how hearing works has long been hampered by challenges associated with seeing inside the inner ear, but technology being developed by a team of researchers that includes a biomedical engineer from Texas A&M University is generating some of the most detailed images of the inner ear to date while offering new insight into the mechanics of hearing that could lead to new therapies for hearing loss.
Employing a technique that generates high-resolution, three-dimensional images, Brian Applegate, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M, and colleagues from Stanford University are mapping the tissues within the cochlea, the portion of the inner ear responsible for hearing. Their research, which appears in the Journal of Neurophysiology, could lead to breakthroughs in understanding of cochlear function, Applegate says.