Phantom Neuro gains study approval for Phantom X prosthetic control system – MobiHealthNews

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Phantom Neuro, a neurotechnology company that offers a muscle-machine interface for controlling prosthetic limbs and robotic exoskeletons, has received approval for its first-in-human Early Feasibility Study (EFS) in Austria to evaluate its Phantom X system.
Phantom X is peripheral neural interface technology designed to allow amputees to control complex electronic systems, such as prosthetics and robotic skeletons, as natural extensions of the human body.  
The muscle-machine interface works through a small, implantable sensor array placed under the amputee’s skin in the residual limb that interprets the neuromuscular activity generated by the individual’s muscles.
The array captures electrical signals without touching the nervous system and translates that activity into precise robotic limb movement.
The Australian study, dubbed CYBORG, will enroll 10 upper-limb, below-the-elbow unilateral amputee participants to examine the safety, efficacy and usability of Phantom X’s muscle-machine interface through natural, intuitive movement.
CYBORG participants will undergo a single outpatient, same-day implantation surgery with two weeks of recovery before being fitted with a Phantom X-compatible prosthetic. Follow-up evaluations will take place over approximately 20 weeks.
The study will be conducted in Melbourne, and surgeries will be performed at the Catholic, not-for-profit private health service Cabrini Health. ProMotion Prosthetics and Enable Rehab will provide prosthetic care and rehabilitation.
“This approval represents a defining milestone for Phantom Neuro,” Connor Glass, founder and CEO of Phantom Neuro, said in a statement.
“For the first time, we’re moving from preclinical validation to human implantation. This study is designed to evaluate the safety of our system and begin validating that functional, real-time control of prosthetic devices can be achieved through a minimally invasive muscle interface.”
THE LARGER TREND
Last year, Phantom Neuro’s CEO, Glass, joined MobiHealthNews for its Emerging Technologies Series to discuss the company’s technology and how he thinks that, one day, robotic systems could be superior to a human arm.
“We are in the early infancy of these robotic systems being developed. Now, in order for those robotic systems, for there to be an incentive for these robotic systems to approach true human function or surpass it, there has to be a financial incentive in place, which means they have to work really, really well for people and generate revenue for people for people to be willing to put the time, money and effort into making them better and stronger,” Glass told MobiHealthNews.  
“The natural future of it, and the not so distant future, in my opinion, is that these robotic limbs are better than human limbs, and they are replaceable. So, if something goes wrong, you can replace it or if your needs change over time.”
Phantom Neuro, which spun out of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2020, announced an oversubscribed $19 million Series A funding round in 2025, bringing its total raise to $28 million.
In 2022, the company secured $3.25 million in seed funding and, subsequently, $6 million in expanded seed funding.​
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