If you've been dreaming of strapping on your own "Iron Man" armor, you might have to wait a while longer. But revolutionary "bionic exoskeletons," like the metal suit worn by comic book hero Tony Stark, might be closer than you think -- just don't expect to fly away in one.

For the past eight months, students at Anacapa School got ready to talk with an astronaut hundreds of miles from Earth.

With hopes dimming that Kaiba Gionfriddo would survive, doctors tried the medical equivalent of a "Hail Mary" pass. Using an experimental technique never before tried on a human, they created a splint made out of biological material that effectively carved a path through Kaiba's blocked airway.

If you've been dreaming of strapping on your own "Iron Man" armor, you might have to wait a while longer. But revolutionary "bionic exoskeletons," like the metal suit worn by comic book hero Tony Stark, might be closer than you think -- just don't expect to fly away in one.