Researchers in Austria have tested a pair of implantable hearing devices based on fibre optic technology. The technology is based on completely contact-free fibre-optic technology, which senses the tiniest ossicle movements and uses them to stimulate the acoustic nerves

The Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), based at the University of Southampton, UK, is heading a £6.1 million programme funded by the UK’s EPSRC to develop the next generation of fibre optics