Measurement of slow nanometre movements in the living inner ear with active head stabilization

We are the first to measure slow sub-microscopic movements in the fluid-filled inner-ear, using changes in the resistance of a glass micropipette. The measurement noise floor was less than 10nm. The frequency response of the technique was beyond 10kHz, limited by the electrode's electrical corner frequency. The animal's skull was stabilized to within 10nm using feedback, using a novel low-noise optic displacement probe. A novel ventilator was also developed using a subwoofer speaker, allowing ventilation movements to partially cancel pulse movements. The same techniques can be used throughout biology to monitor sub-cellular movements in living tissue bathed in biological fluids.