PSYONIC, CREATOR OF THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL BIONIC HAND, NOW CALLS SAN DIEGO HOME
PSYONIC, the company behind the world’s first touch-sensing bionic hand, recently moved its headquarters to Scripps Ranch in San Diego, California from Chicago, Illinois with the support of JLL, a Fortune 200 and San Diego-based commercial real estate firm.
PSYONIC, the company behind the world’s first touch-sensing bionic hand, recently moved its headquarters to Scripps Ranch in San Diego, California from Chicago, Illinois with the support of JLL, a Fortune 200 and San Diego-based commercial real estate firm. JLL helped the company search for a new home, identify suitable buildings, tour options virtually, and negotiate favorable lease terms.
The move comes at a time when the company is developing its most ambitious developments to bionic limbs and seeking opportunities to partner with the regions thriving MedTech community and leading orthopedic departments at the Naval Medical Center and UC San Diego.
“My goal is to turn San Diego into the bionics capital of the world where everyone comes here to get the latest and greatest in bionic limbs,” said PSYONIC founder and CEO Aadeel Akhtar.
How and where it all started
Dr. Aadeel Akhtar was seven years old when he first started thinking about prosthetics and imagining what it would mean to help people with limb differences unleash the best in themselves. While visiting Pakistan, he met an amputee for the first time. She was his age and didn’t have the same access to healthcare.
It was striking, even to a kid. How could they share a heritage but have such different lives? As he grew older, he came to understand the vast discrepancies in resources that people have around the world and right here in the United States. And so, he started PSYONIC while in graduate school to help develop advanced prostheses that are affordable for everyone.
What began as a small group of engineers now includes public health experts, social workers, and designers along with an incredible group of doctors, clinicians, and non-profits working in the developing world.
America’s Finest City: a hotbed for innovation, talent, and opportunities
In addition to the regions established MedTech community, San Diego’s military presence, access to advancements in processors and proximity to Los Angeles make it a prime location for its new headquarters.
PSYONIC worked closely with JLL to locate a flex-office space including a mix of modern work areas, a warehouse and manufacturing space along the I-15 corridor – a strategic location home to top universities and engineering talent. JLL’s keen understanding of the region and its 3-D visualization and mapping technology, Blackbird, helped PSYONIC identify sites for talent, take virtual tours and access key data such as availability, rental rates and building class – ultimately helping the company refine its search and make a selection that best fit its needs.
So, what’s next?
The company is working on new technologies right here in our backyard to be released in five years. PSYONIC is partnering with local organizations and surgeons studying how to directly integrate bionic limbs with patients’ bones and researchers specializing in nerve implants to enable users to control individual fingers. This advancement will allow users to play instruments again, type on a keyboard and more.
PSYONIC is also developing hands for robotics applications and companies like Meta, Apptronik and NASA who have ordered The Ability Hand™ to develop robots to complete human tasks.
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AUGUST 10, 2026
The Secret to a Home That Feels Just Right
Behind every beautiful space is a thoughtful process, and ASID San Diego is helping homeowners understand the value of professional design.
A perfectly designed home rarely happens by accident. Those kitchens that feel effortless and rooms that seem to tell a story the second you walk in? They’re usually the work of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.
It’s knowing which ideas will actually work, which materials will hold up over time, and how to turn a collection of choices into a space that feels intentional. That’s where a professional interior designer comes in.
For the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) California San Diego Chapter, the goal is to help people see interior design as more than just the finished look. Behind every well-designed space is a process built on technical expertise. Designers are educated in everything from professional software and construction details to building codes, space planning, materials, and functionality.
Courtesy of ASID
“People don’t always realize how much goes on behind the scenes,” Kirsten Recce , current president of the ASID California San Diego Chapter, says. “Our designers are not just doing furniture placement and color selection and picking out new fluffy pillows. That’s not what they’re trained for.”
ASID members bring formal education, continued learning, and industry knowledge to their projects, helping create spaces that are not only beautiful, but designed to work. A paint color that changes completely depending on the lighting. A material that looks beautiful in a showroom but doesn’t make sense for everyday life. A layout that photographs well but doesn’t function for the people living there. These are the details where professional guidance can make all the difference.
Still, one of the biggest misconceptions about hiring an interior designer is that it’s reserved for massive renovations, luxury homes, or people who already know exactly what they want. The process can feel intimidating. Where do you begin? Is a designer worth the investment? What if you only need help with one room?
ASID’s answer: start with one hour.
ASID’s Spruce Up events break down one of the biggest barriers between homeowners and professional design: knowing where to begin. Held twice a year, the community program gives homeowners the chance to work directly with an ASID designer through a one-hour, $125 consultation in their own home. Whether you’re looking for advice on furniture placement, window treatments, kitchen and bath updates, remodeling ideas, vacation rentals, color selections or something else entirely, the upcoming September 2026 event offers an approachable way to get expert guidance before committing to a full project. Signups are open through Sept. 7, with consultations taking place Sept. 21 through Oct. 31. Proceeds benefit ASID San Diego’s educational and community programs. Register here!
Courtesy of ASID
“It’s a great opportunity for people who are in that exploratory phase,” Recce says. “Maybe they’re not sure they want to hire an interior designer yet, or they think it sounds daunting or expensive. This gives them a chance to discover what working with a designer is actually like.”
Design is personal. A good designer isn’t just creating a beautiful room; they’re helping create a space that fits the way someone lives.
“We’re a resource to all of San Diego County,” Recce says. “It doesn’t cost anything to pick up the phone and call and ask. We’ll answer.”
Growing up, Laika Nur, MD, Scripps Clinic sports medicine specialist, loved watching beach volleyball when the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour came to her hometown of Chicago. A talented volleyball player herself, she remembers sitting in the stands all day, and once, even got a couple autographs. Years later, Dr. Nur was attending a professional event focused on women’s sports, and the discussion turned to a new professional women’s volleyball league. The general manager and coaching staff for San Diego’s team, the Mojo, happened to be in attendance, and Dr. Nur took the opportunity to ask them if they needed a team doctor. Flash forward to the Mojo’s inaugural 2024 season, when Dr. Nur officially became the team physician. Click here to read more about Dr. Nur and how she incorporates lessons she learned on the court into her practice.
For more nutrition, wellness, and healthy living tips, sign up for the San Diego Health newsletter here.
Your feet and ankles probably aren’t something you give much thought to—until something goes wrong. Orthopedic surgeons at Scripps Clinic are on the leading edge of foot and ankle reconstruction, treating patients with sports injuries, deformities, traumatic injuries and other conditions. That includes repairing torn Achilles tendons with a minimally invasive procedure that shrinks the incision site to less than a centimeter, and performing advanced ankle replacement on some patients with ankle arthritis. Read more about Scripps’ innovations in foot and ankle care here.
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Mai Vue was just 34 weeks pregnant when she delivered her baby. Her pregnancy had been complicated, and she’d had a recent second trimester pregnancy loss, which led to her receiving specialized care from Sean Daneshmand, MD, a Scripps Clinic perinatologist who oversees high-risk pregnancies. Dr. Daneshmand and his team took care of Mai during her pregnancy, through the birth of her healthy baby girl and beyond. Mai was part of a program Scripps launched to provide support to new moms in the weeks and months after delivery. The postpartum program, known as Scripps Health’s Fourth Trimester Continuum of Care, provides care for women with high-risk pregnancies to optimize their health after childbirth and reduce the risk of complications in future pregnancies. Click here to learn more.
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It’s estimated that one in five people in the U.S. will develop skin cancer at some point in their lives. When you factor in living in a sun-soaked city like San Diego and the outdoorsy lifestyle that comes with it, that figure can jump to as high as one in three, which makes early detection and intervention all the more important. Dermatologists at Bighorn Mohs and Dermatology Center are using innovative imaging methods and advanced surgical techniques to diagnose and treat skin cancer. For certain cancers in sensitive spots, like the face, dermatologists perform Mohs surgery, removing skin tissue layer by layer until reaching healthy, cancer-free tissue. They also use a process called immunohistochemistry to view tissue samples taken during Mohs surgery in far greater detail than previous methods. Read more about how Scripps is advancing skin cancer care here.
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When endurance athlete Isaac Sanchez learned he had cancer, he felt blindsided. He was healthy, surfed often and was training for an Ironman triathlon. But he had to put that on hold to undergo treatment. His physicians at Scripps Cancer Center developed a plan to treat the cancer in his tonsil and lymph nodes that included six-and-a-half weeks of near-daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. He also worked with a Scripps Cancer Center dietitian to enhance his nutrition to promote strength and healing. Today, Isaac’s back to doing what he loves. Read more of his story here.
For more nutrition, wellness, and healthy living tips, sign up for the San Diego Health newsletter here.
