Cochlear hearing implants transmit sounds from an external microphone to neurons in the brain through small electrodes, the implant will give deaf the ability to hear, but the sound is very poor and distorted. Researchers from Germany, Japan, South Korea and Singapore worked together to come up with a new cochlear implant that uses LED lights in place of electrodes, allowing people to see sound– meaning that light emitted by LEDs is perceived by neurons in the brain as sound. The procedure implants LEDs in place of electrodes, and the LEDs light up when sound is detected. While the new procedure isn’t ready for human trials, lab mice did show high levels of sound distinction that haven’t been seen in any type of hearing implant before.
New implants enable mice to “see sound”
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