A prosthetic leg that feels like a real body part

Getting the neural interface hooked up to a prosthetic takes two steps. First is surgery involving the portions of muscle that remain after a lower-leg amputation. The operation reconnects shin muscle, which contracts to make the ankle flex upward, to calf muscle, which counteracts this movement. The prosthetic can also be fitted at this point. In addition to enabling the prosthetic to move more dynamically, the procedure can reduce phantom-limb pain, and patients are less likely to trip and fall.