BiOM Ankle System: The Power of Personal Bionics

Personal Bionics is the breakthrough in prosthetic technology that will help your patients achieve their goals and improve their mobility by emulating their own missing muscle and tendon function. By powering movement and normalizing function, the technology also reduces the aches and pains associated with traditional prosthetics, including stress on the joints that is typically caused by deviations in the gait.

The BiOM Ankle System is the first commercially available personal bionic intervention available to lower-extremity amputees. The powered device restores the biomechanics of ankle-foot function across all walking speeds and enables amputees to walk with the same gait and the same effort as non-amputees.

Compared to all other commercially-available ankle-foot prostheses, the powered propulsion of the BiOM System increases energy return by 100% and mechanical power delivery by 800%,. In essence, this process injects more mechanical energy into the amputee’s walking stride than it absorbs. The BiOM System powers walking throughout the gait cycle [1-5], whereas all other devices require the amputee to power the prosthesis, potentially resulting in gait abnormalities. Presently, no other ankle or ankle-foot system delivers a normative biologic-response across all walking speeds [2-5]. 

The BiOM System is currently being reimbursed by a number of payer organizations, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, numerous workers’ compensation programs, as well as a growing list of private insurance policies. Please contact the BiOM team to learn more about Personal Bionics, availability of the device and reimbursement support.

[1]         D. Gates, J. Aldridge, J. Wilken. “Comparison of powered and unpowered prostheses in patients with transtibial amputation walking on a rock surface. Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Center for the Intrepid, Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston, TX, USA.

[2]         A. Grabowski, S. D’Andrea, H. Herr. “Bionic leg prosthesis emulates biological ankle joint during walking,” Amer. Society of Biomechanics, 2011.

[3]         S. Au, J. Weber, E. Martinez-Villapando, H. Herr. “Powered Ankle-Foot Prosthesis for the Improvement of Amputee Ambulation,” IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology International Conference. Lyon, France, pp. 3020-3026, 2007.

[4]         Au S., Weber J., Herr H. Powered Ankle-foot Prosthesis Improves Walking Metabolic Economy. IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 2009; 25 (1): 51-66.

[5]         H. Herr, A. Grabowski. “Bionic ankle–foot prosthesis normalizes walking gait for persons with leg amputation,” Proceeding of the Royal society B, 2011.