They can be extended to assist doctors in managing entire patient conditions by connecting the dots and deciphering what our body is trying to tell us.

FORBES: Can a Cyborg Treat Us Before We Fall Sick?

Standing in front of the mirror, she repeatedly rubbed a white cross on her forehead, an action that she could only have performed by connecting her reflected image with her own body.

WSJ: The Brains of the Animal Kingdom

Pioneered by Todd Kuiken, director of the Neural Engineering Centre for Artificial Limbs at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, along with his colleagues Aimee Schultz, Blair Lock and Dr Marasco (who was formerly at NECAL), this involves rerouting the nerves that would have originally controlled and sensed the missing limb and connecting them instead to other parts of the body.

ECONOMIST: Rewiring nerves