The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 16, 2010
Filed:
Nov. 14, 2005
Joseph I. Walsh, Jr., Evanston, IL (US);
E. Duco Jansen, Nashville, TN (US);
Agnella Izzo, Evanston, IL (US);
Claus-peter Richter, Skokie, IL (US);
Joseph I. Walsh, Jr., Evanston, IL (US);
E. Duco Jansen, Nashville, TN (US);
Agnella Izzo, Evanston, IL (US);
Claus-Peter Richter, Skokie, IL (US);
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (US);
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (US);
Abstract
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.