Here are the stories of 2016 about the future of medicine and healthcare you liked the most so far. At Vanderbilt University, scientists are building an artificial kidney that they envision will one day will be a standard of care over dialysis. The end result is expected to be a microchip about the size of a natural kidney, small enough to be implantable and powered by the body's own blood flow. A Dutch clinic had their first paralyzed patient walk home in an exoskeleton. The heart-warming event followed an 8 weeks-long training program designed by the clinic, during which the patient has trained with the ReWalk 6.0 exoskeleton to regain their movement. A groundbreaking new therapy in which white blood cells were reprogrammed to attack cancer cells is showing great promise after more than 90 percent of terminally ill leukemia patients had their symptoms disappear completely.

Wouldn't it be fun to play a rousing game of hide-and-seek with the droid you're looking for? Don't you think you'd sleep better at night knowing R2-D2's got your back? Well, this advanced bot not only resembles the famous droid, with its pill-like shape, it's smart like him too. BIG-i is a personal home assistant that takes care of you and your family. The bot encourages you to don a light jacket if it's chilly outside, entertains you with an enthralling tale, and more. The robot's eyeball, which swivels in any direction, reminds me of Hal, the maniacal computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Until recently, Chris Urmson, was the head of the driverless car project at Alphabet's X. He famously said his goal was to ensure that his young son never needed a driver's license, and as a father who had plenty of close calls in a car during my dumb teenage years, I completely agree. Urmson's son was 11 when he said that, allowing a five year window for the technology to reach maturity. My own boys have more than a decade before they are old enough to apply for a driver's license, but I'm already working to plant in their young minds the notion that cars are meant to operate themselves, and that putting humans behind the wheel is wasteful at best, dangerous at worst. Over the last week, I've been entertaining them with the HotWheel AI racing set.

The move comes as Qi Lu, a longtime Microsoft engineering leader who was most recently executive vice president of the Applications and Services Group that includes Bing and Office, leaves the company to focus on his recovery from a bicycle accident. Lu, a former Yahoo engineer with dozens of patents to his name, is widely respected within the technology industry, but a rare public speaker outside of it. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, worked for Lu when Nadella led engineering work on the Bing search engine. "Qi exemplifies what it means to have a deep sense of mission, purpose and authenticity in everything one does," Nadella said in an email to employees on Thursday. "His greatest impact is the people he has inspired. I count myself among them."

Xiaomi on Tuesday announced the launch of its second line of smart TVs- The Mi TV 3S, available in 55 inches and 65 inch and sporting 4K displays. This is the Chinese tech giant's second outing in the smart television market. Earlier in March, Xiaomi had launched the 43-inch FHD TV and the 65-inch curved Mi TV 3S. NNow, bothe the Mi TV 3S variants launched on Tuesday have 4K resolutions and support HDR. In China, they are priced at RMB 3,500( 525) and RMB 5,000( 750), respectively.

CHINA has long been seen as the "world's factory," churning out vast mountains of low-quality goods, but it is also considered a nation incapable of producing innovative products and ideas. Now, this is beginning to change -- China is closing the innovation gap. From drones to artificial intelligence, the Internet to genetic engineering, innovative Chinese companies are leading global innovation and reshaping the country's technology and business landscape. "There is a huge market with great opportunity," said Dai Xiang, co-founder and general manager of Enpower Energy, a manufacturer of aqueous ion batteries, which are cleaner, safer and more cost-effective than lead-acid batteries. After 20 years in the United States, working as a senior manager for start-ups in Silicon Valley, Dai decided to go back to China and start his own business.

The game of golf may still be in correction mode after the great recession, but a company that teaches golf lessons, using cutting edge technology, is hitting on the level of a scratch golfer. GolfTEC Co-founder and CEO Joe Assell tells FOXBusiness.com the success is linked to the company's proprietary motion-analysis system, known as SwingTRU, that offers technology-based training, mobile services, results and location. "We teach with research and facts, based on the measurement technology we use," explains Assell. "Your lessons are saved online and you can watch it from your phone or computer to remember what the coach told you. You can watch from anywhere in the world and book lessons from your phone or tablet."

Patrick Meier (center, in cap) flies a drone in Nepal after the earthquake in 2015. Meier and his team were able to to capture detailed images of damage around the capital, Kathmandu. He believes using this technology will make crisis mapping even more effective for disaster response. Patrick Meier (center, in cap) flies a drone in Nepal after the earthquake in 2015. Meier and his team were able to to capture detailed images of damage around the capital, Kathmandu. He believes using this technology will make crisis mapping even more effective for disaster response.

Big Data is the new competitive advantage. From being a massive challenge, it has now become an enormous opportunity. The amount of data in the world is fast exploding, yet analyzing this data is paving the way for innovations, even faster! Newer analytical solutions are being offered everyday to help companies outperform competition. Machine learning on the other hand, is out-reaching milestones one after another, and attracting billions of investment from the tech giants.

One Friday afternoon, I decided to check out a pea-sized lump on my neck that was causing me consternation. I started by calling my GP's surgery in south London. A recorded message informed me there were no appointments that day; after a few minutes, a receptionist came on the line and said that I could have an appointment on Monday. Not too bad, I thought, until I realised she was not talking about the Monday three days hence, but the one 10 days away. I could also try for a walk-in slot or a phone consultation from 8am to 10am on weekday mornings. The homepage was purple and teal, the writing welcomingly blobby.