Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T21:37:53.028Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The tympanic membrane in cross section: a finite element analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

T. H. J. Lesser*
Affiliation:
Address for correspondence: Tristram Lesser, Departments of Otolaryngology and Dental Prosthetics, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff, South Glamorgan.
K. R. Williams
Affiliation:
Address for correspondence: Tristram Lesser, Departments of Otolaryngology and Dental Prosthetics, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff, South Glamorgan.
*
229 Lake Road West, Roath, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales.

Abstract

This paper applies the technique of finite element analysis to the tympanic membrane. A Two-dimensional cross-sectional model of the tympanic membrane and malleus is described. A variety of experiments have been performed on this model, and displacements under a uniform load are analysed. The shape of the displaced membrane and the movement of the umbo were found tobe sensitive to a number of factors. These include the elastic modulus of the membrane, the presence and position of the axis or rotation of the malleus, and the size of the pars flaccida. Some implications of these results are discussed.

Type
Main Articles
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ars, B. (1985) The importance of the tympanic frame in sound transmission. II Valsalva, 61: 311.Google Scholar
Dancer, A. L., Franke, R. B., Smigielski, P., Albe, F. and Fagot, H. (1975) Holographic interferometry applied to the investigation of tympanic-membrane displacements in guinea pig ears subjected to acoustic impulses. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 58: 223228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Funnell, W. R. J. (1980) Natural frequencies of a finite element model of the cat eardrum. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Supplement 67: 588.Google Scholar
Funnell, W. R. J. (1983) On the undamped natural frequencies and mode shapes of a finite element model of the cat eardrum. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 73: 16571661.Google Scholar
Funnell, W. R. J. and Laszlo, C. A. (1978) Modelling of the cat eardrum as a thin shell using the finite element method. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 63: 14611467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Funnell, W. R. J. and Laszlo, C. A. (1982) A critical review of experimental observations on the eardrum structure and function. ORL. 44: 181205.Google Scholar
Helmholtz, H. (1886) Die Mechanik der Gerorknochelchen und des Trommelfells. Pflügers Archiv für gesamte Physiologie, 1: 160.Google Scholar
Kirikae, I. (1960) The Structure and Function of the Middle Ear. The University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Larrabee, W. F. and Galt, J. A. (1986) A finite element model of skin deformation. Laryngoscope, 96: 413419.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lou, Z., Yang, W. and Sandhu, T. S. (1986) Numerical analysis of temperature variations in cross sections of the human thorax. Fifth international conference on mechanics in medicine and biologyBologna, pp. 369–374.Google Scholar
Moller, A. R. (1961) Network model of the middle ear. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 33: 168176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Onchi, Y. (1961) Mechanism of the middle ear. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 33: 794805.Google Scholar
Tonndorf, J. and Khanna, S. M. (1971) The tympanic membrane as part of the middle ear transformer. Acta Otolaryngologica, 71: 177180.Google Scholar
Tonndorf, J. and Khanna, S. M. (1972) Tympanic membrane vibrations in human cadaver ears studied by time-averaged holography. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 52: 12211233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, K. R. and Edmunson, J. T. (1984) Orthodontic tooth movement analysed by the finite element method. Biomalerials, 5: 347352.Google Scholar
Williams, K. R., Edmunson, J. T., Morgan, G., Jones, M. L. and Richmond, S. (1986) Orthodontic movement of a canine into an adjoining extraction site. Journal of Biomedical Engineering, 8: 115120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zwislocki, J. (1962) Analysis of middle ear function. Input impedance. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 34: 15141523.Google Scholar