The above video tells the story of how we created a tiny steerable endoscope that can pass through the eustachian tube and see into the middle ear. An update beyond what is described in the video is that we are now commercializing this device through the lab’s startup company EndoTheia, Inc. EndoTheia was recently awarded FDA Breakthrough Device designation for this device. The company has received millions of dollars of grant funding to support the commercialization of the device and is actively working to bring the product to market, it is one of several in EndoTheia’s portfolio that share the same underlying intellectual property.

Journal Papers

1. M. H. Freeman, J. B. Gafford, L. Fichera, J. Noble, R. J. Webster III, R. F. Labadie. Transeustachian Middle Ear Endoscopy Using a Steerable Distal-Camera Tipped Endoscope. Otology & Neurotology, 43, (2):206-211, 2022.

2. L. Fichera, N. P. Dillon, D. Zhang, I. S. Godage, M. A. Siebold, B. I. Hartley, J. H. Noble, P. T. Russell III, R. F. Labadie, and R. J. Webster III. Through the Eustachian Tube and Beyond: A New Miniature Robotic Endoscope to See Into The Middle Ear. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2(3):1488-1494, 2017.