ArticleJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2026
A decade of Cybathlon: impact on public visibility, scientific dissemination and technology transfer.
Article in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Correction: A decade of Cybathlon: impact on public visibility, scientific dissemination and technology transfer.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The Cybathlon is an international competition in which individuals with physical disabilities complete activities of daily living using advanced assistive technologies, including robotic devices. International championships were held in Zurich in 2016, 2020, and 2024, with up to eight disciplines that included races using powered prosthetic limbs, exoskeletons, and wheelchairs. Between 2015 and 2024, more than 120 teams from over 30 countries participated in Cybathlon competitions and affiliated events. The aim of this work is to systematically assess the Cybathlon’s broader impact over its first decade, with particular attention to public visibility, scientific dissemination, and the translation of assistive technologies toward academic, clinical, and industrial application. To this end, we combine a longitudinal analysis of media coverage (2014–2025), a bibliometric review of scientific publications, and a survey of participating teams. A total of 6,944 media items were identified, predominantly from online sources (73.6%), with the highest coverage originating from Switzerland (26%), followed by the USA, Italy, and Germany. By January 2025, 297 scientific publications referred to the Cybathlon, with author affiliations most frequently from Switzerland, Italy, the USA, and China. Among participating teams, 79% reported accelerated prototype development due to Cybathlon participation, and over one-third attributed new educational materials, clinical methods, or collaborations to their involvement. These effects were frequently linked to early and sustained user integration, iterative testing under realistic conditions, and close interaction between engineers, clinicians, and end users. Participation directly contributed to the founding of three companies and supported five additional ventures. Additionally, at least 21 established companies participated during the various editions. Overall, the Cybathlon emerges as a unique, competition-driven innovation ecosystem that not only increase public awareness of assistive technologies but also shapes research priorities, support user-centered design practices, and facilitates pathways toward clinical adaptation and commercialization.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.