For those who have suffered the loss of a limb, life is limited by devices that offer movement but not the comfort or control they deserve. Many prosthetic hands are fragile, uncomfortable, and out of reach due to limited insurance coverage. Aadeel Akhtar, founder and CEO of PSYONIC, wants to change that reality. He believes prosthetics should restore more than motion. They should bring back the sense of touch that connects us to one another. The PSYONIC team builds technology through a mix of engineering precision and human understanding, driven by a shared belief. That is, making a significant impact through innovation and commercialization of bionic technology, emphasizing the importance of building people up rather than breaking them down. Dr. Akhtar is committed to ensuring that everyone can experience the benefits of advanced prosthetics, and he believes that commercializing this technology is essential to achieving that goal. His gratitude for being able to pursue this passion and his dedication to making a positive impact are central to his mission with Psionic. In his conversation with Jenny Chen, Akhtar walks through how PSYONIC developed the Ability Hand, a fast, impact-resistant bionic hand designed to deliver touch feedback while remaining practical for everyday life. He reflects on the challenges and lessons that shaped his mission, from designing durable, responsive hardware to building a company rooted in empathy and accessibility. As the discussion unfolds, it becomes clear that the bionic revolution can transform how people receive care. As Akhtar puts it, “Some of these limitations exist more in our heads than we think,” a reminder that innovation begins with shifting how we see what is possible.

⚠️ Disclaimer:
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. The views expressed do not constitute engineering, medical, or financial advice. The technologies and procedures discussed may not be commercially available or suitable for every case. Always consult with a qualified professional.

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About Our Guest Dr. Aadeel Akhta

Dr. Aadeel Akhtar is a neuroscientist, engineer, and entrepreneur, and the Founder and CEO of PSYONIC. His work focuses on merging neuroscience, robotics, and human-centered design to create bionic limbs that are faster, more durable, and capable of providing touch feedback. His mission began with a childhood experience in Pakistan, where he met a young girl using a tree branch as a prosthetic limb. That moment shaped his long-term goal of building accessible, high-performance bionic technology that works outside the lab and in everyday life. He earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience and M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, along with degrees in Biology and Computer Science from Loyola University Chicago. Under his leadership, PSYONIC developed the Ability Hand, now used by patients and major research and industry partners.

Key Takeaways

• The Ability Hand evolved through more than nine generations from early low-cost 3D-printed prototypes into a fast, impact-resistant, touch-sensing prosthesis that patients can actually use in daily life.
• Direct patient feedback shifted the focus from low cost to durability, speed, and reliability, since many users were breaking conventional prosthetic hands worth tens of thousands of dollars within months.
• Soft robotics, silicone overmolding, and reinforced 3D-printed structures enabled a hand that can survive drops, impacts, and harsh conditions while remaining relatively affordable to manufacture.
• Touch sensors and haptic feedback give users vibrations that indicate contact and grip force, enabling delicate tasks like holding raspberries or flimsy cups, and even letting one user feel his daughter’s hand.
• PSYONIC’s open API lets both researchers and some power users program the hand, stream sensor data, and integrate it into robotics, VR, and other advanced applications in minutes

Resources

🔗PSYONIC and Ability Hand

• Infographic of prototypes?
• PSYONIC Official Website
• Ability Hand Product Overview
• Contact and Demo Requests
  

🔗Videos, Talks, and Media

• PSYONIC YouTube Channel (durability tests, user stories, robotics demos)
• Ability Hand Durability and Impact Tests Playlist
• Talks and Interviews with Aadeel Akhtar

🔗Access, Equity, and Community

• Range of Motion Project (ROMP)
• Ability Fund (ROMP x PSYONIC initiative)
• Limb Loss and Limb Difference Resources (Amputee Coalition)

🔗Research and Technical Foundations

Aadeel Akhtar Google Scholar Profile

Automatic Grasp Selection Using a Camera in a Hand Prosthesis (EMBC)
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7591263

Skin-Integrated Wireless Haptic Interfaces for Virtual and Augmented Reality (Nature 2019)  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1687-0

An Epidermal Stimulation and Sensing Platform for Sensorimotor Prosthetic Control (Advanced Materials)  https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201503255

Large-Area MRI-Compatible Epidermal Electronic Interfaces for Prosthetic Control and Cognitive Monitoring (Nature Biomedical Engineering) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-019-0405-1

A Wireless Haptic Interface for Programmable Patterns of Touch Across Large Areas of the Skin (Nature Electronics)  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-021-00693-7

Tact: Design and Performance of an Open-Source, Affordable, Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand (ICRA)  https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7139238

Controlling Sensation Intensity for Electrotactile Stimulation in Human–Machine Interfaces (Science Robotics)  https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.aat7302

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