Prosthetic News and Research

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Prosthetic (Prosthesis) devices, such as an artificial leg, that replace a part of the body. Prostheses are typically used to replace parts lost by injury (traumatic) or missing from birth (congenital) or to supplement defective body parts. Inside the body, artificial heart valves are in common use with artificial hearts and lungs seeing less common use but under active technology development. Other medical devices and aids that can be considered prosthetics include artificial eyes, palatal obturator, gastric bands, and dentures.

Bioinspired sensor mimics haptic and pain perception for prosthetics

Lower-limb amputation not only impairs mobility but is also frequently accompanied by phantom limb pain and disrupted haptic and nociceptive perception in the residual limb, which can compromise prosthetic use and rehabilitation.

1 Oct 2026

From lab to living room: Revolutionary Utah bionic arm enters first home trial

At age 16, Alexander “Avi” Davidson fell 35 feet from the top of a telephone pole, an accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down and led to the amputation of his left arm below the elbow.

24 Sep 2026

Innovative synthetic artificial skin gives young double amputee his childhood back

A 12-year-old double amputee patient at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), who became only the second person in the US to receive a pioneering synthetic skin treatment for his limbs, was recently visited by the medical technology company that developed the product.

18 Sep 2026

First US patient receives a mind-controlled bone-anchored bionic arm

A Chicago-area man is set to become the first person in the United States to receive a bionic arm connected directly to his bone, nerves and muscles - an advanced prosthesis designed to be controlled by his own neural signals and return sensory feedback in real time.

17 Sep 2026

Researchers develop custom electronic skin for advanced prosthetic sensing

An electronic skin with a sensing system that can detect pressure and temperature could someday be used to help amputees gain feeling in their prosthetics.

20 Aug 2026

Novel transistor design improves precision in wearable electronic skin technology

The recent advancement of miniaturized and portable electronics, particularly wearable and flexible devices, has increased the demand for self-powered sensing technologies.

10 Aug 2026

Trans-tympanic optical stimulation of the cochlea evokes reliable auditory responses

A new study, using Mongolian gerbils as an animal model, demonstrated for the first time that trans-tympanic infrared laser stimulation of the cochlea evokes reliable, auditory-guided behaviour in awake animals without the need for genetic modification or invasive surgical implantation.

17 Jul 2026

Long-term study proves brain stimulation safely restores touch

What if people who have lost the ability to feel their hands could get that sense back - not through a prosthetic glove, but through tiny pulses of electricity delivered directly to the brain?

16 Jul 2026

Simple color cues help stroke patients control prosthetic devices

Controlling a robotic arm, a prosthetic hand, or a rehabilitation device is harder than it looks. Picking up an egg, for example, requires just the right amount of force: too little and it falls, too much and it breaks.

15 Jun 2026

Solent student masters the art of fake wounds to create life-saving simulations for the military and NHS

A Southampton Solent University student is set to graduate with two jobs already secured, one with the Ambulance Service and one delivering trauma simulation training for the British military.

13 Jun 2026

3D-printed anatomical models bring better surgical outcomes

JMIR Publications released a story on how 3D-printed anatomical models are being used to improve surgical outcomes in its News and Perspectives section. Authored by ICU nurse and health writer Jenna Congdon, BSN, RN, "Printing Personalized Medicine: 3D Models Bring Better Surgical Outcomes" reports how ENT surgeon Kyle VanKoevering, MD first used 3D modeling to recreate, then print, the head of a fetus with a potentially airway-obstructing facial mass in order to determine whether a risky surgical procedure would be necessary during delivery.

26 May 2026

New standards improve quality of donated prosthetic feet worldwide

Researchers have proposed new standards into the decades' old prosthetic donations market, improving the quality of lower limb prosthetic feet by two-thirds – a major quality of life boost for recipients.

14 May 2026

Transcatheter valve replacement helps patients with limited heart care options

Findings from the AltaValve™ Early Feasibility Study suggest that patients with a leaky mitral valve have sustained clinical benefits one year following atrial fixation Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR).

23 Apr 2026

University of Cincinnati launches clinical trial to test new drug for prosthetic joint infections

The University of Cincinnati has enrolled the first patients in a new clinical trial that will test the effectiveness of an investigational drug for prosthetic joint infections (PJI).

10 Apr 2026

Transcatheter valve-in-valve procedure improves short-term outcomes in high-risk patients

In patients with a poorly functioning bioprosthetic mitral valve in the heart, a minimally invasive procedure to insert a new valve was associated with a lower rate of death or disabling stroke within one year, compared with patients who underwent standard repeat mitral valve replacement surgery, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

29 Mar 2026

Breakthrough technology decodes leg movement signals from nerves in amputees

A research team led by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, has, for the first time, successfully decoded leg movements directly from the remaining nerves in people with above-knee amputations.

19 Mar 2026

Novel embedding-driven AI for adaptable brain control

Motor imagery (MI) is the mental process of imagining a specific limb movement, such as raising a hand or walking, without physically performing it. These imagined movements generate distinct patterns of brain activity that can be recorded using electroencephalography (EEG).

11 Mar 2026