Patent ID: 8465533

Claim:
A method of simultaneously exposing a target region within a subject's body to light and an electric field, the method comprising the steps of: embedding, within the subject, a light-emitting diode having a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the light-emitting diode is positioned so as to illuminate the target region, and wherein the first terminal and the second terminal of the light-emitting diode are spaced apart by a distance D; administering, to the subject, a photosensitizer that accumulates in tissue at the target region, wherein the photosensitizer is activated by a wavelength of light that is emitted by the light-emitting diode; and capacitively coupling, into the target region, an AC electric field having an amplitude and orientation that causes an AC voltage gradient to appear between the first terminal and the second terminal of the light-emitting diode, wherein the AC voltage gradient is large enough to activate the light-emitting diode and cause the light-emitting diode to emit light.