HEALTH

This year marked a turning point for bionic technologies. In March, a dancer who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing returned to the stage on a prosthetic foot and ankle. In June, a paraplegic man made the World Cup’s opening kick using a mind-controlled exoskeleton. The FDA approved the first robotic exoskeleton for home use that same month. Here, we size up standout recent advances in restoring movement to those who’ve lost it.

1. IMES System / Illinois Institute of Technology
   Implantable myoelectric sensors in muscles that allow a user to signal multiple movements at the same time with an artificial limb.
2. Neurobridge / Battelle
   A brain chip that bypasses damaged nerves to stimulate the muscles of a paralyzed arm, hand, or fingers directly.
3. Luke Arm / Deka
   A prosthetic limb controlled by electrodes at the attachment site and a joystick-like sensor on a user’s shoe.
4. Lifehand 2 / EPFL (Switzerland) and SSSA (Italy)
   A robotic hand that gives a user a sense of touch and the ability to determine if an object is hard or soft, round or square.
5. ReWalk / ReWalk Robotics
   A motorized exoskeleton that assists with movement at the hips, knees, and ankles to help paraplegics stand and walk.
6. ITAP / Stanmore Implants
   A bone implant that provides a stable, irritation-free attachment point for a prosthetic limb.
7. Pulley-Based Tendon Transfer / Oregon State University
   Surgically implanted pulleys that reattach tendons in the hand to undamaged muscles in the wrist to restore some mechanical function.
8. BiOM T2 System / BiOM
   A battery-powered foot and ankle with an internal spring that compresses to absorb impact and releases to propel the foot.
9. The Cyborg Beast / E-nable
   A 3-D–printed plastic hand, mechanically controlled by movement of the wrist or elbow, designed by an open-source community.