@Pat thanks. my worry is that the tectorial membrane would be in the way and you couldn't remove it without changing the dynamics. besides, the organ of Corti is mobile so getting a stable view of the surface (like, with the image plane parallel to a section of the basal lamina) seems basically impossible
@2ck
A light field camera could be used for that to give you an infinite depth of field but I don't know if they make them that small.
Yes, the dynamics would necessarily be different.