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, said: “It is the stuff of almost science fiction coming to reality.”
Garthwaite, 26, from South Shields, said: “When I first got told about the operation I thought it was some sort of fairytale, 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.”
Garthwaite was the first person in the country to undergo nerve transfer surgery known as Targeted Muscle Reinnervation, rewiring of the nerve system so that the nerves that were originally used to control Garthwaite’s arm and hand were redirected to his chest muscles.
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 Garthwaite has learned how to control his prosthetic arm with his mind by focusing his thoughts on the nerves connected to muscles in his chest.
He has demonstrated that he could carry out everyday tasks such as potting a plant and making a jam sandwich using his mind to control his prosthetic arm.
Speaking at the Defence Medi-cal Rehabilitation Centre in Headley Court, Garthwaite said: “It has been a really long journey, enjoyable in some places but frustrating in others.
“I’m going to have a nice Christmas with the family and my wife. I’d like to go in to TV presenting in the future. Whatever doors open, I’m looking forward to what is out there.”
Soubry said: “I never thought I’d see something like this in my life time.
Only two centres in the world know how to carry out such surgery – one in Chicago and one in Vienna
“I think you have to pinch yourself and think – he is doing this with his mind, with his brain. It is quite uncanny.”
Steve Lambert, a lead prosthetic technician at Headley Court who worked with Garthwaite during his rehabilitation, said: “I have been working in complex trauma for six years and this is the case that really put a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.
“The technology advanced considerably over the last six years. This will be the future.”
Gillian Conway, a prosthetist at Headley Court who has been treating Cpl Garthwaite over the last two years, said: “It is a big step forward in prosthetics to be able to give someone intuitive control.”