Aadeel Akhtar received his MS in Engineering and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in December 2017. His dissertation, "Mechanisms for enabling closed-loop upper limb sensorimotor prosthetic control," was the culmination of his research on prosthetic limbs driven by an encounter he had as a child with a young girl in Pakistan who had been missing a leg. He was convinced that there was a better, smarter and most importantly, cheaper way to make these affordable to a greater number of those in need.
To continue his work, Akhtar founded Psyonic, which now makes the "Ability Hand" which has sensors in the fingertips so individuals can detect pressure when picking up or gripping objects. This hand has 32 different grip patterns available. It not only provides biofeedback to the user, it is versatile, highly functional and is also affordable. It has been approved for coverage by Medicare. In recognition for the strides he has made in this field Akhtar was named in Newsweek's America's Greatest Disruptors - Medical Marvels.