New advanced ankle-foot prosthesis from VUB spinoff also works properly with flat battery

VUB spin-off Axiles Bionics has received a European subsidy of €2.5 million from the EIC Accelerator Programme to develop a new generation of bionic feet. These are ankle-foot prostheses with an ankle joint. The company also won a European Technology Award at the end of last year. Its first ready-to-use ankle-foot prosthesis is now on the market: the Lunaris, a basic model that can be upgraded in modular fashion to become the most advanced prosthesis available. "Most ankle-foot prostheses on the market do not have a joint at the ankle," says Dr Ir Pierre Cherelle, CEO and founder of Axiles Bionics. "These are often models made using technology from the 1970s and 80s. They cause a lot of secondary pathologies, such as osteoarthritis or back pain in the patient, as the body compensates for the motor difficulties of taking steps with them.