One-armed man's life transformed by world's most advanced prosthetic limb

A father who lost his arm in an accident six years ago has been given a new lease of life by a high-tech bionic hand which is so precise he can type again. Nigel Ackland, 53, has been fitted with the Terminator-like carbon fibre mechanical hand which he can control with movements in his upper arm. The new bebionic3 myoelectric hand, which is also made from aluminium and alloy knuckles, moves like a real human limb by responding to Nigel’s muscle twitches. The robotic arm is so sensitive it means the dad-of-one Nigel can touch type on a computer keyboard, peel vegetables, and even dress himself for the first time in six years.



Nigel operates the futuristic arm by sending the same signal from his brain he used to operate his original, human arm. The thought flexes muscles in his upper arm, which are detected by sensors that trigger one of 14 pre-programmed grips, mirroring human movements. The different grip patterns include a clenched fist, a pointed finger and a pincer and a lighter and heavier according to how the user tenses their upper arm. Nigel is one of just seven people in the world to be given the arm as part of a four-month trial, which it is hoped will see the electronic arm made publicly available.

The smelter, who was forced to retire after losing his arm, said his new hand has given him “a whole new quality of life”. He said: “I knew straight away that the end result of my accident would be horrible so I asked for my arm to be cut off, which was the right decision in the end as the arm was dead anyway. I tried to go back to work but I really struggled, everyday tasks were extremely hard. When you lose a part of you it can take you into quite a dark place – it is a shame the bebionic3 isn’t available for everyone, it is a whole new quality of life. Prior to this I used prosthetic limbs provided by the NHS which were horrible. I used a hook which didn’t resemble a hand at all.


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“I am slowly becoming more at one with it, the fingers even move when I yawn and stretch, but it will never be the same as having my own hand. Things like tying a shoe lace and chopping a vegetable are now much easier. I have been blown away by the robotic hand, I could sit and watch it all day – I feel like the Terminator.” Right-handed Nigel, who lives with his wife Vanessa, 50, and son Conor,19, in Royston, Cambs., lost his arm when it became caught in an industrial blending machine at the Johnson Matthey smelting plant in 2006. While the hand has changed his life Nigel says it still has limitations and the keen musician has not been able to start playing the piano and saxophone again.