Northwestern University

Vanderbilt University

Joseph I Walsh, Jr

Claus-Peter Richter

E Duco Jansen

Agnella Izzo

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.

Growing community of inventors

Evanston, IL, United States of America

Joseph I Walsh, Jr