Ukrainian bioprostheses from Esper Bionics were included in the top 200 innovations according to Time magazine.
"Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and digital signal processing, Esper Bionics' prosthetic arm is the first AI-powered cloud-based robotic prosthesis that gets smarter over time. The lightweight device has up to 24 wearable sensors that detect and process muscle activity and brain impulses; machine learning on the Esper platform allows the hand to act more "intuitively" over time.
Dmytro Gazda, co-founder, and CEO of Esper Bionics, a physician and engineer, believes that prosthetics are the foundation of the market for shaping the bionic future. "The most important technology developed in the next 30 years will be electronics inside the human body," he said in a note about the Ukrainian company.
"The most important technology developed in the next 30 years will be electronics inside the human body," Dmytro Gazda tells Time.
The "smart" robotic arm Esper Hand weighs 380 g. It is equipped with 24 sensors that receive and process muscle activity and brain impulses to activate actions in the hand.
"Here's how it works. When a user tries to move the Esper Hand, their brain sends impulses to activate exact muscles in the forearm, shoulder, or chest. We detect this activation with the help of muscle sensors (which are wearables, not implants) and use them as an exact call-to-action for our robotic hand", according to the official website of Esper Bionics.
Esper Bionics was included in the "Accessibility" category, as well as on the cover of the rating. In total, it presents more than a dozen categories, including: "AR/VR", "Food and Drink", "Green Energy", "Beauty", "Design", "Entertainment", and many others.
Candidates were selected through online applications. After that, the editorial jury studied and evaluated the candidates' developments.
Among the evaluation criteria:
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Originality
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Efficiency
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Ambition
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Impact
The prosthesis received approval from the US medical regulator FDA and permission to sell the development in the United States. There are no current prices as of 2022 on the company's website yet. There were also no official reports about the start of sales.
