Patent ID: 8600515

Claim:
A cochlear stimulation system comprising: a processor configured to generate one or more control signals based on a customized stimulation pattern in a cochlear implant implanted in an individual; and circuitry coupled to the processor, the circuitry configured to apply one or more stimulation currents to one or more selected electrodes of an electrode array associated with a cochlear implant based on the generated one or more control signals; wherein the customized stimulation pattern is determined based on a test that identifies independence of the one or more selected electrodes, and wherein the processor and the circuitry are further configured to conduct the test by performing operations that comprises: applying a first stimulation to the at least a pair of electrodes using a first pair of pulse trains that are in phase; applying a second stimulation to the at least a pair of electrodes using a second pair of pulse trains that are out of phase; and determining whether the at least a pair of electrodes stimulate the same neural population based on a sensitivity of the individual to detect a perceived difference between the two pairs of pulse trains.