The principal goal of this work is to develop in vivo cellular assays of cochlear function that coupled with standard hearing testing will elucidate cellular pathways of both normal and pathological conditions. Micro-endoscopy using gradient refractive index optics (GRIN) offers a new approach to overcome this challenge. GRIN micro-endoscopy is an emerging imaging modality that provides micron-scale optical resolution in tissues inaccessible to standard light microscopy.
Cochlear GRIN micro-endoscopy will provide a greater understanding of cochlear micro anatomy, will provide a step-by-step roadmap of ototoxin entry and will identify the cellular changes occurring in hair cells after aminoglycoside exposure. Even more important, it will identify intervention sites for hearing preservation during ototoxic events and will provide novel assays for efficacy of intervention regardless of the hearing loss type (aminoglycoside-induced, noise-induced, age-related or cisplatin-induced).