Patent ID: 7833257

Claim:
A cochlear implant placeable in a cochlea of a living subject for stimulating the auditory system of the living subject, wherein the auditory system comprises auditory neurons, comprising: (a) a carrier having a first end, a second end and a body defined therebetween; (b) a plurality of light sources, {L i }, each light source, L i , having a radiant cross-section area, A i , and being operable independently and embedded in the body of the carrier for generating an optical energy, E i , wherein i=1, . . . , N, and N is the number of the light sources and A 1 ≦A 2 ≦ . . . ≦A N ; (c) a processor in communications with the plurality of light sources {L i } for controlling the plurality of light sources {L i } individually or in coordination; and (d) delivering means coupled to the plurality of light sources, {L i }, for individually delivering an optical energy E i generated by a light source L i to a corresponding target site of auditory neurons, wherein the plurality of light sources {L i } are spatially aligned in an array in the body of the carrier such that, when implanted, the body of the carrier is positioned between the apical end and the basal end of the cochlea such that the light sources L 1 and L N are proximate to the apical end and the basal end of the cochlea, respectively, hereby radiant exposure area of the target site of auditory neurons in the apical end portion of the cochlea corresponding to the light source L 1 is less than that in the basal end portion of the cochlea corresponding to the light source L N .