Bionic arms and hands in 2026: bebionic, i-Limb, Ability Hand, the LUKE arm and simpler options compared

The short answer

Which bionic hands and arms can you get in 2026, and how do they compare? Mobility Atlas read the makers' pages and manuals for three multi-articulating hands (Ottobock's bebionic, Össur's i-Limb Quantum and PSYONIC's Ability Hand), Mobius Bionics' pages on the LUKE arm, the FDA's matching DEKA Arm System file, and 35 upper-limb prosthesis rows of our catalog. The makers print 14 grip patterns and positions for the bebionic (up to 8 at once), up to 36 grips for the i-Limb Quantum and 32 for the Ability Hand, 19 of them pre-defined. Hands weigh about 402 g to 689 g. Where printed, water ratings run from IP22 on the i-Limb to IP64 on the Ability Hand; the LUKE arm is IP52 apart from its IMU sensors. The bebionic and i-Limb print a 5-year service life; the LUKE arm goes back for service after 18 months. The bebionic warranty is 2 years, extendable to 5. None of these makers publishes a price, and a prosthetist decides what fits.

Around those flagship hands sit simpler and older choices that many people use every day: body-powered hooks and hands worked by a cable, simpler myoelectric hands, mechanical and powered fingers for partial hand loss, and 3D-printed or open-source hands made by charities and small companies. This guide puts them side by side, using only what the makers and the FDA print, and then looks at the 11 FDA reports with text under four powered-arm product codes that describe a powered arm, hand or its battery. That is too few reports to show any pattern, and we say why.

Mobility Atlas earns a fee or margin when you order through us; the comparison below uses only the makers' published documents, the FDA's own files and our catalog, checked October 2026. Nothing here replaces a prosthetist. Fitting, the socket, the control system and the choice of hand belong to a certified prosthetist and the clinical team, and Mobius Bionics says the LUKE arm system is used "by a certified prosthetist" to build the prosthesis.

Stop and check today

Already wearing a powered hand or arm? These checks come from the makers' manuals, the FDA file and the reports we read. They take a few minutes.

• Charge only with the maker's own charger and battery. Össur's manual says "Only use the Össur charger to charge Össur batteries," and two of the reports we read describe a battery that overheated on a car charger.
• If the socket, battery or hand gets hot, smells of burning, smokes or swells, take the prosthesis off, put it somewhere it cannot set anything alight, and call the prosthetist. In one report a user "felt some pressure and warmth and immediately took the prosthesis off" when a battery puffed up.
• Do not wear the arm while it charges unless the maker says you may. Össur's manual says "Do not use while charging is in progress."
• Know where the hand-open or grip-release button is. The FDA's file on the DEKA Arm System says the hand "has a grip release button that will release the grip in emergencies," and the maker recommends testing it monthly.
• Before an MRI scan, ask whether your arm is MR safe and follow the maker's instructions. The FDA's DEKA Arm file says the arm "is MR Unsafe" and says to "Remove the arm before entering an MRI scan room." Tell the scanning team about any prosthesis.

Everything else in this guide can wait for your next appointment. Heat, smoke and a swollen battery cannot.

How we compared

We compared products only on what their makers print. For the three flagship hands we read the maker's product page, and for Össur also the instructions for use, the long manual that comes with the hand. For the LUKE arm we read Mobius Bionics' FAQ and specification page, and the FDA's De Novo decision summary for the DEKA Arm System, the FDA database record and the federal rule the FDA wrote for this kind of device, 21 CFR 890.3450. For everything else we used our own catalog, whose rows were checked against the makers' pages in October 2026; where a row says the maker's page did not show a figure, we say that too.

For money we read Medicare's page on prosthetic devices and the list of local coverage rules published by CGS, one of the Medicare contractors that handle prosthetic claims. For safety we read the FDA's recall records for the arm product codes and every FDA adverse event report with text filed under four powered arm codes, and the FDA's own pages on what those reports can and cannot show.

We left out anything we could not read in a saved document: review sites, forum posts, videos, sales claims we could not trace and prices from memory. Some makers publish more than we could read; where a page would not load, the figure is missing rather than guessed.

Six kinds of arm and hand, side by side

Bionic is a sales word, not a medical one. In practice, upper-limb prostheses fall into six groups. The same person may own more than one, for example a body-powered hook for heavy or wet work and a powered hand for the rest of the day.

Myoelectric means the prosthesis reads small electrical signals from muscles in the remaining limb through sensors in the socket, and turns them into movement. Multi-articulating means the fingers move separately, so one hand can make many grip patterns. A body-powered device uses the user's own shoulder and arm movement, carried through a cable. A full powered arm such as the LUKE arm adds powered joints above the hand.

Which kind suits a person depends on the level of limb difference, the strength and signals in the remaining muscles, the skin, the work and hobbies, and what can be funded. That is the prosthetist's call, made with the user. This guide explains what each kind is and what its maker prints.

The core table: four flagship devices as their makers print them

These are the figures each maker prints for its own product, read in October 2026. Where a cell says not published, the document we read did not give the figure.

Each column comes from a different kind of document. The bebionic and Ability Hand figures come from the makers' product pages; the i-Limb figures from Össur's product page and its instructions for use; the LUKE arm figures from Mobius Bionics' FAQ and specification page, with the service life from the FDA's file on the DEKA Arm System and the grip count from our catalog row. Like-for-like comparison is harder than the table makes it look: makers measure weight with different wrists, and they publish different load tests.

The LUKE arm is also a different kind of device. It is a whole arm, from hand to shoulder in its largest configuration, so its weight includes elbow and shoulder joints that a hand does not have. Compare it with the hands for what it adds, not for grams.

Features each maker highlights

Beyond the headline numbers, each maker picks out a few features of its own. These are their words and claims, not our tests.

Össur says the i-Limb Quantum is "the only myoelectric hand which can change grips with a gesture," and that its Auto-Grasp feature is an "anti drop safety feature to prevent objects from slipping out of grasp." PSYONIC says of the Ability Hand that "Each finger can handle blunt force impact without breaking." Ottobock describes the bebionic as "Ideally suited for light to moderate daily activities." Those are the makers' claims; ask to see each feature working during the fitting, with the objects you use every day.

Össur lists the i-Limb Quantum for transhumeral, transradial and wrist disarticulation levels, that is, limb difference above the elbow, below the elbow, or at the wrist. Ottobock's page says the bebionic is for "people with upper limb difference." The levels a hand can serve depend on the rest of the prosthesis as well, and the prosthetist decides that.

Grips: what the numbers mean

Grip counts are the most visible number on a bionic hand page, and the least comparable. Ottobock prints "14 grip patterns and hand positions (up to 8 programmed at once)" for the bebionic. Össur says the i-Limb Quantum lets you "Select from up to 36 different grips available, both preprogrammed and customized." PSYONIC says "We offer 32 grip patterns - currently, 19 are pre-defined and available for use," and adds "Customized grips are coming soon."

So the three counts mean different things: positions as well as grips on one page, a total that includes custom grips on another, and a total of which some are not yet available on the third. What matters day to day is which grips you will use and how easily you can switch between them. The makers describe their switching methods: the bebionic has six control modes and a Mechanical Smart Thumb that moves to suit the grip; the i-Limb Quantum changes grips with a gesture, by moving the hand "in one of four directions," Össur says; the Ability Hand works with pattern recognition, direct control, linear transducers and force sensors from other makers.

Our catalog adds more counts from other makers' pages: 20 grips for the TASKA CX, over 24 programmable grips for the COVVI Hand, 24 for the Zeus Hand (14 preset and 10 configurable), 7 for Ottobock's Michelangelo hand, and 6 each for the Hero Arm, the LUKE arm and TrueLimb.

Ask the prosthetist which grips you would actually use for your work and hobbies, and try switching between them during the fitting. A hand with fewer grips that you can reach quickly may suit you better.

Weight, grip force and load limits

Weight matters because a prosthesis hangs from the residual limb through the socket all day. Ottobock lists the bebionic at 433 g for the small hand and 616 g for the medium hand with its EQD wrist, about 402 g to 588 g with the short wrist, and about 504 g to 689 g with the flexion wrist. Össur lists the i-Limb Quantum from 432 g (extra small, wrist disarticulation version) to 658 g (medium-large, flexion wrist). PSYONIC says the Ability Hand "weighs in at 490 grams." Our catalog records the TASKA CX from 430 g, the Hero Arm hand at 340 g, the Michelangelo at 1.12 lb and the VINCENTevolution4 from about 390 g in its smallest size.

Load limits are where the documents need careful reading. Össur's manual gives a maximum static hand load of 90 kg for the small, medium and large hands (40 kg for extra small) and a finger carry load of 48 kg for the i-Limb Quantum. It also warns "Do not carry objects using only the tips of the digits." Ottobock's page gives the bebionic's static force on the chassis as 500 N, a single finger at 32 N, a tripod grip force of 36 N and a key grip force of 26 N.

One bebionic figure contradicts itself. The page prints the force with a closed hand, carrying a bag, as "34.17 lbf / 40 N." Those two numbers do not match: 34.17 lbf is about 152 N, and 40 N is far less. One of them is wrong as printed, and we cannot tell which. If carrying bags matters to you, ask Ottobock or your prosthetist for the confirmed figure in writing.

For the DEKA Arm System, the FDA file quotes the labeling: the system is designed for activities of daily living, and "This includes such tasks as moving a gallon of milk around and carrying heavy loads (a 20-lb bag of groceries, for instance)." It adds that what the arm can carry also depends on "the fit of your socket, your body's ability to support the load, and your arm position." That is true of every device here: the socket and the body set the limit as much as the hand.

Water and dust: IP ratings in plain words

An IP rating is a two-digit code. The first digit is protection against dust and solid objects, the second against water. Higher is more protected; the second digit runs from light dripping to full submersion. Read the maker's words as well as the code.

Össur's manual is blunt: "Do not expose to water," and "do not submerge the i-Limb hand, cover, electrode surface or magnetic charger port in water." Mobius says the LUKE arm's body-worn parts other than the IMU sensors give "resistance to light rain and fine dust," and that the IMUs are rated IP57, with "resistance to water at depths up to 1 m (39 inches)." The FDA file on the DEKA Arm System gives the same IP52 rating, "small dust and light rain impermeable." PSYONIC says the Ability Hand has "spill and splash resistance" and is "IP64 rated." Our catalog records, from the makers' pages, IP67 for the TASKA CX and IP68 for the VINCENTevolution4, and that Ottobock's bebionic and Michelangelo pages say the hand must not be worn in the shower or bath.

Splash resistance is not swimming. If washing up, gardening in the rain or swimming matter to you, ask the prosthetist about the rating of the whole prosthesis, not only the hand: the socket, the electrodes, the battery and the wrist all have to keep water out. For swimming, some users have a separate swimming prosthesis; our catalog row describes the TRS Freestyle Swimming Device as a device for one.

Batteries and charging

The powered hands and arms here run on rechargeable batteries; where the makers state the type, it is lithium (lithium polymer for the i-Limb, lithium-ion for the LUKE arm). The makers print very different amounts about it. Össur's manual gives a lithium polymer battery of 7.4 V nominal, lists both a 2000 mAh and a 1,300 mAh capacity, and says charging takes "90 minutes to 3 hours." It also says "Batteries are to be replaced annually by service personnel only" and "Internal batteries must not be replaced by the end user."

PSYONIC says the Ability Hand "Charges using USB-C in about an hour" and that "A charge lasts an estimated 6-8hrs." It adds that you can charge a phone from the arm. Mobius says the LUKE arm "is powered with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries," with an optional internal battery in the humeral and shoulder configurations "to extend usage time," and its specification page lists 14.8 V and up to 7000 mAh, or up to 5000 mAh for the radial configuration. The bebionic page we read gave no battery figures.

Batteries are also where the FDA reports cluster, as the second half of this guide shows: 9 of the 11 reports we read are about a battery, charger or power problem. The rules the makers print are simple and worth keeping: the maker's own battery and charger, no charging while wearing unless the maker allows it, battery replacement by the service team, and, from the reports, a prosthesis taken off at once if it gets hot.

• Ask how long a charge lasts on a normal day for your settings, not in a test.
• Ask whether you need a spare battery or a second charger for work or travel, and who supplies them.
• Ask whether a car charger is approved for your system. Two reports we read describe overheating on a car charger.
• Ask when the battery is due for replacement, and whether that is covered.

Service life, servicing and warranty

Service life is how long the maker designs the device to last with normal servicing. Warranty is what the maker repairs or replaces free, and for how long. Both matter more for a powered hand than for most equipment, because these are complex devices used every day.

Ottobock's page says the bebionic "Comes with a standard 2-year manufacturer's warranty," with "Extended warranty options available, up to 5 years," and "Free loaners provided during maintenance and repairs." It also lists field-replaceable fingers for quick repair. Össur says its "Touch Care package offers warranty support for up to 5 years." The FDA file says DEKA "states in the labeling the device shall have a service life of 3 years, with a servicing at 18 months." The FDA file also notes that in durability testing "certain components were not able to withstand a 3 year test" without maintenance after 18 months of accelerated use. Mobius says that after 18 months of use the LUKE arm "should be returned to the manufacturer for scheduled service."

A loaner matters. A powered hand that goes back to the maker for repair can be away for a while, and a user who depends on it needs something to wear. Ask, before fitting, who provides a loaner, how long repairs usually take, and whether the warranty runs from shipment, from fitting or from purchase. Our catalog rows show all three wordings among different makers.

The LUKE arm: what Mobius and the FDA file say

Mobius Bionics sells the LUKE arm. Its pages describe the same features the FDA's file on the DEKA Arm System lists: up to 10 powered degrees of freedom, an IP52 rating that excludes the IMU sensors, use by a certified prosthetist for people aged 18 and older, and a service after 18 months. The FDA file does not use the name LUKE, and the Mobius pages we read do not name DEKA. Below, we say which source each figure comes from. The FDA's database record shows Deka Integrated Solutions Corporation asked for a De Novo classification, a route for new kinds of device with no earlier version to compare against, in June 2012, and the FDA granted it on 9 May 2014 under number DEN120016. Mobius says the LUKE arm "is currently available for sale in the US."

The decision summary says the system is "indicated for individuals, age 18 years and older, who have partial or full upper limb amputations or congenital defects," and is for prescription use. It comes in three configurations: shoulder, humeral and radial, for different levels of limb difference. The FDA says it "can provide up to 10 active degrees of freedom," from shoulder movement down to the thumb. Mobius lists 10 powered degrees of freedom for the shoulder configuration, 8 for the humeral and 6 for the radial, and weights of 4.7 kg, 3.4 kg and 1.4 kg; our catalog row records six grips. Mobius adds that the hand "includes a sensor that provides grip force feedback."

Control is unusually flexible. The FDA file lists electrodes on the skin, bump switches, linear transducers, inertial measurement units (IMUs, motion sensors) and force sensing resistors, with up to 4 inputs, and says the IMUs and force sensors "are preferably placed in the shoes or on the feet." So some users steer the arm partly with their feet.

The file lists warnings worth reading before anyone is fitted. It says the safety and effectiveness "has not been established" for people with amputations of both arms where one or both are at what the FDA file calls the transhumeral or scapulothoracic level. It says "Do not use the arm to drive a car or truck or other motor vehicle," "Use care when handling hot liquids with the arm," and not to use a damaged arm. It reports an average time to take the arm off of 14.4 seconds for the shoulder configuration and 17.6 seconds for the humeral one. The clinical part of the file describes a Veterans Affairs study in which 36 arm users were sampled to represent the amputation levels.

How the FDA classes powered arms

The DEKA Arm System created its own rule. After the De Novo decision, the FDA wrote 21 CFR 890.3450 for "upper extremity prosthesis including a simultaneously powered elbow and/or shoulder with greater than two simultaneous powered degrees of freedom." The rule makes such a device Class II, a middle level of control, and says it "is a prescription device." It lists special controls the maker must meet: testing of electrical, thermal, mechanical and "battery performance and safety," software checks, durability testing, a hand release button checked where there is one, and labeling that warns against risky activities "(e.g., driving)."

The FDA's classification database lists this kind of device under product code PAE. In October 2026 the only submission listed under PAE was DEN120016, the DEKA Arm System's own file. Powered hands, hooks and elbows that are not full multi-joint arms sit under other product codes; the reports we read below were filed under IQZ, the code for powered hands. Being in the FDA's database is not the same as having been cleared or approved for a particular use; when a maker claims FDA status, ask for the document.

What the rule shows a buyer is what the FDA thinks can go wrong with a powered arm: the battery, the software, the grip that will not let go, water and dust getting in, and the arm being used for things like driving. Those are the same areas the makers' warnings cover; the reports we read touch only one of them, the battery.

Other multi-articulating hands in our catalog

The three flagship hands are not the only ones. Our catalog, checked against the makers' pages in October 2026, holds these as well. None of their pages shows a price.

A few notes from the catalog checks. The VINCENTevolution4 page is labelled as the predecessor of a newer VINCENTevolution5, so ask which one is supplied. The Esper row points to the maker's home page, which mentions FDA and coding status but shows no specifications. The Hero Arm page also lists newer Hero PRO, rugged and waterproof RGD, and FLEX versions, and a partial-hand device.

The Michelangelo and Myo Kinisi are not multi-articulating in the same way: the Michelangelo has a driven thumb and a flexible wrist, and our catalog row describes the Myo Kinisi as a single-motor hand, which the maker's page we checked did not confirm.

Body-powered hooks and hands

Body-powered devices have no battery and no electronics. A harness across the shoulders pulls a cable when the user moves the shoulder or arm, and the cable opens or closes the hook or hand. They have no battery to charge, and one can sit alongside a powered hand for heavy or wet work.

There are two basic designs. A voluntary-opening device is held closed by bands or springs and opens when the cable is pulled; grip strength is set by the bands. A voluntary-closing device stays open and closes when the cable is pulled, so the user controls how hard it grips. Our catalog holds three adult examples from Fillauer's page: the Hosmer 5X Hook, an aluminium hook with a rubber-lined grip; the TRS Grip 5 Evolution Prehensor, a voluntary-closing gripper that opens over 3 inches; and the TRS Lite Touch Adult Hand, a voluntary-closing hand for light to medium duty that the maker says will not support an adult's body weight. All three carry a 12-month warranty in our catalog.

Our catalog also holds activity devices that screw onto the same wrists: a weightlifting grip rated to 1,650 lb, a guitar pick adapter and a freestyle swimming device. No price is listed for any of these on the pages our catalog checked.

Body-powered or myoelectric is not a contest. It depends on the level of limb difference, shoulder strength, the harness the person can tolerate, the work and the climate. The prosthetist and the user decide together, and some choose both.

Partial hand and finger prostheses

For people missing fingers or part of the hand, the choice is different again. Our catalog holds mechanical, body-driven and powered options, checked against the makers' own pages where they loaded.

Body-driven fingers such as the PIPDriver are moved by what remains of the user's own finger or hand, so they need no battery. Ratcheting fingers such as the Point Digit are, as our catalog row describes them, set into position with the other hand or against a surface. Powered digits replace several fingers with small motors, like a multi-articulating hand in miniature. Our catalog could not check the i-Digits Quantum row, because the maker's page would not load; we do not quote its grip count here.

Partial hand fitting is highly individual: how much of the palm and which fingers remain changes everything. Ask a prosthetist who fits partial hands regularly, and ask to try more than one approach.

Elbows, wrists and control systems

Above the hand sit the parts that make a prosthesis an arm. Our catalog holds Steeper's Espire Elbow range, from mechanical counterbalanced models to the powered Espire Pro, and Fillauer's Motion E2 Elbow, a powered elbow with switch or pattern-recognition control and a 24-month warranty. For wrists it holds the ProWrist Rotator, a powered wrist rotator that works with TASKA and PSYONIC hands in its 6-band form, and the Sierra Wrist Flex Unit, a wrist that locks at 0, 25 or 50 degrees, described as body-powered in our catalog row.

Control is the other half of a myoelectric system. Simple direct control uses two muscle sites, one to open and one to close. Pattern recognition reads several muscle signals at once and learns which pattern means which movement. Our catalog holds Coapt's Complete Control system, which the maker says works with more than 800 combinations of upper-limb components. Ottobock says the bebionic is compatible with its Myo Plus pattern recognition system, and PSYONIC says the Ability Hand "works with most third-party systems."

The FDA's rule for full powered arms reads, in one line, why these choices matter: the arm uses "electronic inputs" to drive several joints at once. Which inputs a user can produce reliably, and with how much training, is the heart of a fitting. The prosthetist and an occupational therapist usually work on it together.

Children and teenagers

Children grow, and a prosthesis has to change as they do. Our catalog holds Steeper's Junior Myo, a small myoelectric hand for children from about 8 years and smaller adults, with a 40 to 60 N grip; Fillauer's Lite Touch Children's Biomechanical Hands in four sizes, cable operated; and Open Bionics' Hero Arm, which its maker lists for users aged 8 and over.

Age limits come from the makers and regulators, and they differ. Mobius and the FDA file on the DEKA Arm System both say the arm is for people "age 18 years and older." Charity and open-source projects in the next section often focus on children: our catalog records that Koalaa's soft prosthetics are free for under-18s in the UK through its Project Limitless, and that Limbitless Solutions provides arms through clinical trials.

Choosing a first device for a child is a decision for the family, the child and a paediatric prosthetic team. Ask how the socket will be adjusted as the child grows, what happens when it no longer fits, and whether the child can try a device before the family commits.

3D-printed and open-source arms

Some hands are not sold by the large makers at all. Our catalog holds five in its affordable, 3D-printed and open-source group, from charities, a university-based non-profit and small companies, plus Open Bionics' 3D-printed Hero Arm.

These projects are different from each other. The Phoenix Hand is a volunteer design that needs a working wrist and enough palm to push against, and the e-NABLE page furnishes its materials as they are, without warranties. The Victoria Hand Project works through trained clinicians in 11 countries, our catalog records. TrueLimb and the Hero Arm are commercial products made by 3D printing.

A 3D-printed hand is not automatically a cheap version of a bionic one, and a free design is not automatically safe for every user. Ask who fits it, who repairs it, what happens when it breaks, and whether a prosthetist will check the skin and the socket. Our catalog does not record FDA status for the open-source designs, and we make no claim about it.

Touch feedback

A few hands now try to give the user a sense of touch. PSYONIC says the Ability Hand "has integrated sensors that detect pressure when you grip an object and sends a vibration to your arm to communicate the sensation." Our catalog records vibration feedback on the VINCENTevolution4 and fingertip vibration feedback on TrueLimb, from the makers' pages.

Makers present this as a way to handle delicate objects; the documents we read do not include studies of it, and we make no claim about how well it works. If touch feedback matters to you, ask to try it during the fitting and ask the prosthetist how it is set up with your socket.

If the arm is there but weak: powered orthoses

Not everyone looking for a bionic arm has limb loss. People with arm weakness after a stroke, a brachial plexus injury or a spinal cord injury sometimes look for the same words. The devices made for them are orthoses and rehabilitation devices, not prostheses; which one, if any, suits a person is for the physician and therapist. Our catalog holds powered arm orthoses such as Myomo's MyoPro 2X, robotic gloves such as Bioservo's Carbonhand, and clinic rehabilitation robots.

Our catalog lists prices for two hand orthoses, both from Saebo's US site, checked October 2026: the SaeboGlove, a non-motorised glove, around USD 299 on sale, regular USD 349, and the SaeboStretch, a resting hand splint, around USD 249 on sale, regular USD 359. Prices change; confirm before you order. The Mobility Atlas guide to exoskeletons covers powered orthoses and exoskeletons; whether one suits a person is a decision for the physician and the therapist.

What bionic hands cost: their makers publish no price

None of the makers whose pages we read publishes a price for a bionic hand or arm. Ottobock's US page for the bebionic shows no price, only "Login or register to buy." Össur's and PSYONIC's pages show no price. Our catalog holds 35 upper-limb prosthesis rows, from hooks to full arms, and none has a price, except the free or charity-funded projects described above.

Ottobock's page is a trade page with a login to buy. Mobius Bionics says of the LUKE arm that "an estimated cost can only be determined when a specific patient's case is under review by a certified prosthetist." The price to the user depends on the whole prosthesis: the socket, the electrodes, the battery, the wrist, the fitting visits and the training, and on who pays. We do not quote prices from memory or from third parties, so this guide gives none. Prices also differ by country, by clinic and by funding scheme.

What the makers' pages do print is billing codes. Ottobock lists suggested US HCPCS codes for the bebionic, L6880 for the hand, with L6629 and L6621 for some wrists. Our catalog rows record similar codes from other makers' pages, such as L6955 for the Motion E2 Elbow. These codes are what a US clinic uses to bill an insurer. If you want a figure, ask the prosthetist for a written quote for the whole prosthesis, itemised by code, and ask what your insurer will pay for each line. If you would like help finding a device or a clinic, send us an enquiry.

Does US Medicare pay for a bionic arm?

Does US Medicare pay for a bionic arm or hand? Mobility Atlas read Medicare's page on prosthetic devices and the coverage rules list of CGS, a Medicare contractor for prosthetic claims, in October 2026. Medicare's page says Part B "covers prosthetic devices when a doctor or other health care provider orders them," and "After you meet the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount." The supplier must participate in Medicare. What we could not find is a detailed coverage rule for upper-limb prostheses. The CGS list has local coverage rules titled for lower-limb prostheses, external breast prostheses, eye and facial prostheses, and an upper-limb tremor stimulator, but none titled for upper-limb prostheses. So the local coverage list we read has no rule that says which arm a person qualifies for. Ask the prosthetist how the need will be documented, and ask Medicare or your plan what it will approve for each billing code.

Medicare's page also says "Some states may require prior authorization for certain types of lower-limb prosthetics before Medicare will pay," and that the amount you owe depends on other insurance, what the provider charges and whether they accept assignment. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicaid, VA care or private insurance, ask that plan directly, in writing, how it pays for an upper-limb prosthesis before the fitting starts.

Questions for the prosthetist and the maker

• Which kinds of prosthesis suit my level of limb difference and my muscles, and why?
• Can I try more than one hand, including a body-powered option, before we decide?
• Which grips will I actually use, and how do I switch between them?
• What does the whole prosthesis weigh with the socket, battery and wrist?
• What water rating does the whole prosthesis have, not just the hand?
• How long does a charge last for my settings, and which chargers are approved?
• What is the service life, when is the battery replaced, and who pays?
• How long is the warranty, does it run from shipment, fitting or purchase, and can it be extended?
• Will I get a loaner while it is being repaired?
• What will my insurer pay, item by item, and what will I owe?

Write the answers down, and ask for the warranty terms and the instructions for use before the fitting. A prosthetist who fits upper limbs often will expect these questions.

What 11 FDA reports show

What do FDA reports show about bionic arms and hands? Mobility Atlas read every FDA adverse event report with text filed under four powered arm product codes, IQZ, PAE, IQW and IRE, up to the openFDA update of October 2026. Only 11 describe a powered arm, hand or its battery, all filed under IQZ, the code for powered hands. That is far too few to show any pattern or to compare makers. 9 of the 11 are about a battery, charger or power problem: batteries that got hot, smoked, swelled or caught fire, several while charging and two on a car charger. 10 were filed as malfunctions and 1 as a death: a house fire in which the reporter says the cause was under investigation, and the maker concluded its hand was unlikely to be a cause or contributor. 8 name Infinite Biomedical Technologies, which makes Flexcell batteries for prostheses. None of the reports with text names the LUKE arm or the DEKA Arm System.

The reports date from 2005 to 2025, and 6 of them arrived in 2022. By a word search of the event descriptions, 8 mention a battery. Two describe an injury: a slight blister after a battery system overheated, and the death report. The event happened in everyday use outside a clinic (at home, in a car or while wearing the arm) in 5 reports, in a clinic in 1, and in 5 the setting cannot be told.

How we read the reports

The FDA collects reports about medical devices in a database called MAUDE. Makers, importers and user facilities such as hospitals must report certain events; patients, families and clinicians can report voluntarily. We pulled every report with text filed under four product codes: PAE, the code created for the DEKA Arm System; IQZ for powered hands; IQW for powered hooks; and IRE for powered elbows. The four codes held 20 reports with text. One more IQZ report, received in July 2026, had no text and is not counted.

Before reading, we wrote a codebook: what the device was, what went wrong first, whether an injury or fall was stated, the setting, and what the maker found. Two independent coders then read every report separately, without seeing each other's answers; the coders were AI language models working separately. They read these reports as part of a larger set of 161 reports that also covers exoskeletons, stair-climbing wheelchairs and 4 manual wheelchair reports checked for all-terrain chairs. Across that set they agreed on the kind of device in 99.4 percent of reports (kappa 0.990) and on the problem in 88.8 percent (kappa 0.859); kappa is a standard measure of agreement beyond chance. We settled the 40 reports where they differed on any field under written rules. We also corrected 18 reports, 1 of them among the 11 counted here (a setting code), where both coders gave the same code but it broke one of the written rules. Then we counted the results by script.

9 of the 20 reports turned out to be about other devices, and we explain them below. That leaves 11.

Batteries and chargers in the reports

Eight reports name Infinite Biomedical Technologies and its Flexcell battery system, fitted inside prosthetic sockets. In one, a prosthetist reported that a user's "system got very hot and started smoking," and the user removed it; the report says the user had "a slight blister that did not require medical attention." In another, a battery stopped working, and when the user plugged the socket into a car charger it "was extremely hot and smelled like it was melting," the report says. A 2024 report describes a prosthesis charging on a car charger on the passenger seat: after about 10 minutes the user "smelled smoke and disconnected the charger," and at the clinic 1 of the 4 batteries was found damaged.

Others describe a battery that was not charging correctly, a prosthesis that stopped working with a burnt smell and damaged parts near the battery system, a flash and a hole in a demonstration socket during fabrication, marks on a junction box near the battery plug, and, in 2025, a battery that "puffed up" with some heat while the user was wearing the prosthesis. In that report the user "felt some pressure and warmth and immediately took the prosthesis off." None of these eight reports describes a serious injury.

Two older reports come from other makers. In 2005, Motion Control reported that a wearer plugged a wall adapter straight into the prosthesis, bypassing the charger, and after about five hours "the internal battery exploded, and broke out in flames"; the wearer took it outside and put the fire out, and no injury was reported. The maker's report names two causes: a wrong part number on its own drawing that let the adapter fit the port, and charging that did not follow the instructions. In 2016, a report under Ottobock's MyoEnergy Integral battery says a battery charged by the prosthetist before a fitting caught fire after about two hours; the maker's narrative names "a defective electronic component of the battery charger."

Read together, the battery reports point to the habits the makers print (the maker's own charger, no improvised chargers) and to what users in the reports did: they noticed heat or smell and took the prosthesis off at once. They do not show that any one battery is more or less safe than another.

The one report filed as a death, read with care

One report, received in 2023 under the i-Limb Access hand (filed by Touch Bionics; Össur's current i-Limb manual covers the i-Limb Access), was filed as a death. It says a fire occurred "in a house where the device was located," that "2 people died and 3 people were injured as a result of the fire," and that "The cause of the fire is under investigation." The report does not say the hand caused or started the fire.

The maker's narrative in the same report says: "Based on information provided, it is herein concluded that the i-Limb Access involvement in the incident is unlikely as a cause or contributor." We found no follow-up in the report that names a cause. The FDA says a report "does not necessarily demonstrate that the device caused or contributed to the adverse outcome or event."

We include it because it is in the record, and because it is the only report filed as a death under the powered hand codes. It does not show that a powered hand started a fire.

Reports under the arm codes that are about something else

Product codes are chosen by whoever files the report, and some are filed under codes that do not fit. Of the 20 reports with text under the four codes, 9 describe other devices. Four filed under PAE, the DEKA Arm System's code, are about joint implants placed by surgery, not prosthetic arms: two name an elbow implant, and two name only a plastic implant component without saying which joint. Two under IQZ are about Kinova's Jaco, an assistive robot arm mounted on a wheelchair. One under IQZ is about a powered arm orthosis for a weak arm, one under IRE about an implanted radial component, and one under IQW about a laboratory pipetting system.

That matters for anyone searching the FDA database by product code. A count of reports under PAE says nothing about the LUKE or DEKA arm: none of the PAE reports with text is about it. Read the text of each report before counting it.

The recall file

We read all 54 FDA recall records for a group of prosthetic, exoskeleton and stair-climbing wheelchair codes that includes the four arm codes. None was filed under PAE, IQW or IRE. Two were filed under IQZ.

The first, from 2005, covers 20 units of an AC wall adapter supplied with Motion Control's ProControl 2 and ProHand battery-powered prostheses. The recall says "Incorrect AC wall adapter was distributed with prostheses," and that incorrect use "could damage the battery and cause a potential fire hazard." It matches the 2005 report above, which also names 20 adapters.

The second, opened in August 2024 and still open in the record we read, covers 949 units of Kinova's Jaco assistive robot arm, which the recall says "replaces the function of the upper limb on one side of the body." The reason given is a "potential installation issue that could result in a fire hazard" when a damaged Jaco arm meets a wheelchair with electrical leakage. One of the Jaco reports filed under IQZ describes smoke from an arm stowed under a wheelchair armrest, and the maker's narrative traces the current to a damaged wheelchair power module. The Jaco is a wheelchair-mounted robot arm, not a prosthesis; the Mobility Atlas guide to electric wheelchairs covers power chairs.

What 11 reports cannot tell you

Eleven reports cannot show how often anything goes wrong, which hand is safer, or whether batteries in arms are a bigger problem than in other devices. The FDA says report data "is not intended to be used either to evaluate rates of adverse events, evaluate a change in event rates over time, or to compare adverse event occurrence rates across devices." It adds that "The incidence, prevalence, or cause of an event cannot be determined from this reporting system alone due to under-reporting of events ..."

The count also depends on who files. Eight of the 11 come from one battery maker that files detailed reports, often with several follow-ups; six of them arrived in 2022. A maker that files carefully will show up more than one that does not. Many problems with a hand never reach the FDA at all: they are fixed by the prosthetist or the maker's service centre and recorded only there. And the reports are from the US system; problems elsewhere may be reported to other regulators.

What the reports do show is what was reported: almost all are about batteries and charging. Battery performance and safety is also one of the areas the FDA rule names, and Össur's manual has its own section of battery precautions.

Safety habits the documents agree on

The FDA file, the FDA rule, the makers' manuals and the reports point to the same short list. None of it replaces the instructions for use of your own device.

• Use only the maker's battery and charger. Össur's manual says "Only Össur batteries should be used with this device."
• Do not improvise: no wall adapters plugged straight into the port, and no car charger unless the maker approves it.
• Take the prosthesis off at once if it gets hot, smells, smokes or swells, and keep it away from anything that can burn.
• Have batteries replaced by the service team when the maker says. Össur's manual says annually.
• Do not drive with an arm whose maker warns against it. The FDA's DEKA Arm file says not to use that arm to drive.
• Take care with hot liquids, and test the grip release button as the maker recommends.
• Do not use a damaged arm. The FDA file says to "Contact your prosthetist and have the damaged part(s) serviced."
• Before an MRI, ask whether your arm is MR safe and follow the maker's instructions; the FDA's DEKA Arm file says to remove that arm before entering the scan room.

If a powered arm overheats, catches fire, or hurts you, tell the prosthetist and the maker in writing, keep the parts, and consider reporting it to the FDA through MedWatch. A recall announcement posted on the FDA's website says reports can be made online at "https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch" or by mail or fax.

Three traps

Trap one: comparing grip counts. One maker counts hand positions as well as grips, another includes custom grips, a third counts grips that are not yet available. Ask which grips you will use and how fast you can reach them.

Trap two: reading splash resistance as waterproof. IP22, IP52 and IP64 are not swimming ratings, and Össur's manual says "Do not expose to water." The socket, battery and electrodes matter as much as the hand.

Trap three: expecting a price or a rulebook. No maker of these hands and arms publishes a price, and Medicare has no local coverage rule written for upper-limb prostheses on the contractor list we read. Ask for a written, itemised quote and a written answer from your insurer before fitting starts.

Three composite scenarios

These are composite scenarios, not individual customers. Each one combines facts and ranges already given in this guide to show how the decision plays out.

Scenario one: an adult with a below-elbow limb difference works outdoors and gardens in the rain. The prosthetist suggests trying a multi-articulating hand for daily tasks and keeping a body-powered hook for wet and heavy work. They compare the water ratings printed for the whole prosthesis, not just the hand, and ask for the warranty terms and loaner policy in writing.

Scenario two: a user notices the socket of a powered arm getting hot while charging in the car. They unplug it, take the arm off, and call the prosthetist, who checks the battery and confirms which chargers the maker approves. They report it to the maker in writing.

Scenario three: the parents of a 9-year-old read about the LUKE arm and learn from Mobius Bionics' page that it is for users aged 18 and older. With a paediatric prosthetic team they look at children's options in this guide, such as a small myoelectric hand, a body-powered hand or an arm listed for users aged 8 and over, and ask how the socket will change as the child grows.

Your plan: 10 minutes, today, this week

In 10 minutes: check that you have the maker's charger, find the grip release or hand-open button, and look at the battery and socket for heat marks or swelling.

Today: write down the questions in this guide for the prosthetist, and find your warranty terms and the instructions for use.

This week: ask the prosthetist which kinds of prosthesis suit you and whether you can try them, and ask your insurer, in writing, how it pays for upper-limb prostheses.

Sources and documents

Makers: Ottobock's US product page for the bebionic hand; Össur's i-Limb Quantum page and its instructions for use; PSYONIC's Ability Hand page. Mobius Bionics' LUKE arm FAQ and specification page. FDA: the De Novo database record and decision summary for the DEKA Arm System, 21 CFR 890.3450, the classification database for code PAE, the recall records for the arm codes, and the FDA's pages on MAUDE and on openFDA's device event data. Funding: Medicare's page on prosthetic devices and CGS's list of local coverage determinations. Our catalog: 35 upper-limb prosthesis rows and the upper-limb orthosis rows, each checked against the maker's page, except where we say a page did not load. Every source is linked in the list at the end of this page.

Related guides on Mobility Atlas: Prosthetic legs; Exoskeletons; Electric wheelchairs.

Method in brief: we compared products only on what their makers and the FDA print, read in full and saved as text, and quoted them word for word. For the FDA reports we coded every report with text under the four arm product codes using a codebook written before coding, with two independent coders (AI language models working separately, each without access to the other's answers), settled disagreements under written rules, and counted the results by script. Report counts are counts of reports, not of devices or users, and they are not rates. Quotes from reports are shown in sentence case; the FDA publishes most of them in upper case.

Prices checked October 2026: no maker of a prosthetic hand or arm in this guide publishes a price, and the only listed prices in our catalog's upper-limb rows are for two hand orthoses, the SaeboGlove and the SaeboStretch. Documents checked October 2026: makers' pages and manuals, the FDA decision summary, rule, classification and recall records, FDA reports up to the latest openFDA update, and Medicare's pages.

Do you use a bionic hand, a body-powered hook or a 3D-printed arm? Send us a note through the enquiry form with the model and what works or does not; we use readers' notes when we update the guide. If you would like us to find a device, a clinic or a quote, ask us through the same form.