Northwestern University

Vanderbilt University

Agnella Izzo

Claus-Peter Richter

E Duco Jansen

Joseph I Walsh, Jr

A cochlear implant placed in a cochlea of a living subject for stimulating the auditory system of the living subject, where the auditory system comprises auditory neurons. In one embodiment, the cochlear implant includes a plurality of light sources, {L}, placeable distal to the cochlea, each light source, L, being operable independently and adapted for generating an optical energy, E, wherein i=1, . . . , N, and N is the number of the light sources, and delivering means placeable in the cochlea and optically coupled to the plurality of light sources, {L}, such that in operation, the optical energies {E} generated by the plurality of light sources {L} are delivered to target sites, {G}, of auditory neurons, respectively, wherein the target sites Gand Gof auditory neurons are substantially proximate to the apical end and the basal end of the cochlea, respectively.

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Evanston, IL, United States of America

Agnella Izzo