Employing optical coherence tomography (OCT), which generates high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) images, Brian Applegate, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), and colleagues from Stanford University (Stanford, CA) are mapping the tissues within the cochlea, the portion of the inner ear responsible for hearing. Their research could lead to breakthroughs in understanding cochlear function, Applegate says, including new therapies for hearing loss.