11:09PM GMT 11 Dec 2013
A soldier who had his arm blown off by a grenade in Afghanistan has become the first person in the UK to receive a mind-controlled prosthetic limb.
A soldier who had his arm blown off by a grenade in Afghanistan has become the first person in the UK to receive a mind-controlled prosthetic limb.
The revolutionary surgery, which involved rewiring the nerve system, has been hailed as the future of prosthetic recovery.
Defence Minister Anna Soubry, who met Corporal Andrew Garthwaite today, said: "It is the stuff of almost science fiction coming to reality."
Cpl Garthwaite, 26, from South Shields, lost his arm when a rocket propelled grenade exploded during an operation in Helmand, Afghanistan in 2010.
He said: "When I first got told about the operation I thought it was some sort of fairy tale, that someone was taking the mickey. But here I am today with this arm that is fitted and works off my mind. It's unbelievable.
"It was definitely a risk. I wasn't worried at all because I had nothing to lose so it was a risk that I was willing to take."
This involved the rewiring of the nerve system so that the nerves that were originally used to control Cpl Garthwaite's arm and hand were redirected to his chest muscles.Cpl Garthwaite was the first person in the country to undergo nerve transfer surgery known as Targeted Muscle Reinnervation.
There are currently only two centres in the world that know how to carry out this type of surgery - one in Chicago and one in Vienna.
Over the past 18 months Cpl Garthwaite has learnt how to control his prosthetic arm with his mind by focusing his thoughts on the nerves connected to muscles in his chest.
Cpl Garthwaite demonstrated today that he could carry out every day tasks such as potting a plant and making a jam sandwich using his mind to control his prosthetic arm.
Source: ITN / PA
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