The accurate screening of otitis media (OM) lies in clarifying the numerous confounding and quantitative factors that are discovered during primary inspections. Increased awareness about bacterial biofilms and inflammation has allowed researchers to develop a better understanding of the bacterial infections that occur in the middle ear. In this study, four live guinea pigs were inoculated with Streptococcus pneumonia to induce OM-related inflammatory changes. Since optical techniques have been effectively used for diagnosis in medicine, low-coherence interferometry-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) was employed for depth-resolved high-resolution data screening. Multiple locations of the tympanic membrane (TM), mastoid mucosa, and round window membrane were examined to assess inflammatory changes. We performed qualitative assessments and thickness quantifications and investigated the variations due to adverse inflammatory affects. The findings of the present study provide a better understanding of S. pneumonia bacteria caused inflammatory changes in middle ear and it further provides a fundamental platform for future clinical utility.

中文翻译：

---

使用光学相干断层扫描技术对豚鼠中耳炎鼓膜和乳突黏膜的炎症变化进行非侵入性光学筛查

中耳炎（OM）的准确筛查在于澄清初级检查中发现的众多混杂和定量因素。对细菌生物膜和炎症的认识提高，使研究人员能够更好地了解发生在中耳的细菌感染。在这项研究中，四只活豚鼠接种肺炎链球菌以诱导 OM 相关的炎症变化。由于光学技术已有效地用于医学诊断，因此采用基于低相干干涉测量的光学相干断层扫描 (OCT) 进行深度分辨高分辨率数据筛选。检查鼓膜 (TM)、乳突粘膜和圆窗膜的多个位置以评估炎症变化。我们进行了定性评估和厚度量化，并研究了由于不利的炎症影响引起的变化。本研究的结果提供了对肺炎链球菌引起的中耳炎症变化的更好理解，并进一步为未来的临床应用提供了基础平台。