Big Step Forward for Brain-Powered Prosthetic Legs

Image credit: National Cancer Institute via Unsplash

Research published this month in Nature Medicine has shown people who had undergone an experimental prosthetic leg surgery were able to walk at the same speed as people without leg amputation.

The pioneering device is powered by the body’s nervous system via a neural interface connecting the bionic limb to nerve endings within the thigh.

Study participants were shown to walk 41 percent faster than those with conventional amputations when using the technology, at speeds comparable with people without leg amputation.

“When you ask a patient ‘What is your body?’ they don’t include the prosthesis,” said study co-author, MIT biophysicist Hugh Herr who is also a double lower leg amputee following a climbing accident as a teen.

“The goal that we have is to really reconstruct bodies, to rebuild bodies.”

Take a look at this video to see the research in action:

Check out the research via Nature Medicine, or refer to the story from MIT Technology Review.