Using attenuation coefficients from optical coherence tomography as markers of vocal fold maturation

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising technology to noninvasively assess vocal fold microanatomy. The goal of this study was to develop a methodology using OCT to identify quantifiable markers of vocal fold development. Study Design In vivo study. Methods A two-step process was developed to reproducibly image the midmembranous vocal fold edge of 10 patients younger than 2 years and 10 patients between 11 and 16 years of age using OCT. An image analysis algorithm was implemented to extract OCT-derived A-lines for each patient. These A-lines were divided into three zones according to apparent changes in slope. Relative attenuation coefficients, or tissue- and system-dependent parameters that describe the rate at which optical signal decays, were calculated for each zone. Results Young patients had distinct relative attenuation coefficients in zone 1 (P