New bionic arm 'absolutely life-changing' for boy from Bude

Jayden, 10, received a new bionic arm after a fundraising campaign

A boy with a limb difference has described his 3D-printed bionic arm as "amazing".

Jayden, 10, from Bude, Cornwall, received the motorised arm last week after a fundraising campaign that began in November 2022.

He said it would allow him to cut his food, tie his shoelaces and ride his scooter.

Bristol-based Open Bionics, which makes the arm, said prosthetics technology was "moving incredibly quickly".

Jayden's family said his limb difference, to his left arm, was due to amniotic band syndrome.

The syndrome is a rare condition where stray bands of tissue wrap around the limbs of an unborn baby and cut off blood flow.

Rebecca said seeing Jayden with the arm was "amazing to watch"

The bionic arm is controlled by the user flexing their muscle and those signals are read by myoelectric sensors.

Jayden is still learning to use inactive muscles and, over time, the technology should get easier to use.

He said his life would change "in lots of ways" after receiving his new arm.

"It's amazing, very light and the design of it is really cool," he said.

Addressing the community who raised £13,000 for the arm, many of them people and businesses from Bude, he said: "Thank you a lot for helping me get this."

Jayden is learning to use inactive muscles to control the motorised arm

Rebecca, Jayden's mother, said her son's face "lit up" when he saw the arm for the first time.

"The journey getting here has been a lot - it's been overwhelming and it's been amazing all rolled into one," she said.

"The things Jayden is going to be able to do with this arm is endless.

"Seeing his confidence grow as he's growing with the arm, that's going to be amazing to watch."

'Live their best life'

Joel Gibbard, chief executive and co-founder of Open Bionics, said the technology could be "absolutely life-changing" for some patients.

"It's something that gives them a huge amount of confidence, enables them to go out into the world and live their best life when they might otherwise be struggling to do so," he said.

Joel Gibbard, from Open Bionics, said AI could be "absolutely huge" for people with limb differences

Mr Gibbard said advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning could one day give users the ability to feel through a bionic arm.

"This technology is moving incredibly quickly, in particular the control systems with new technologies like AI and machine-learning," he said.

"It's going to be absolutely huge for being able to do finer movements [or] be able to move different fingers.

"It could be even for Jayden as he gets older, as he gets firmware updates to this arm or future upgrades, he will be able to even more things - more natural and fluid movements - and we're very, very excited to see that future come into play over the next few years."

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