Ashford mother says 3D printed robotic arm is 'amazing'

Amy Brown said holding both of her children's hands at once was "just amazing"

A mother has said her new 3D printed bionic arm is "amazing" as it enables her to hold both of her boys' hands as they cross the road.

Amy Brown, from Ashford, was born with half of one arm missing and was fitted with a basic prosthetic at six months.

She said she "used to hide myself" before raising £10k for a Hero Arm produced by Bristol-based Open Bionics.

Now she can grip things and even do a thumbs up, which she said took her "about four weeks" to learn.

The Hero Arm, which can be used by both adults and children aged over eight, uses a motor controlled by the user's muscles.

'Game-changer'

Learning to use it takes time.

Ms Brown said: "I have to use muscles which I have never used before, which are very small, to operate the arm.

"Opening and closing I think I picked up quite quickly, but to do a thumbs up, it took me about four weeks."

A motor in the prosthetic arm is controlled by the user's muscles

Ian Jones, of Limb Solutions, said: "It's about trying to teach her to find the right wiggle of her residual limb to operate the electrodes.

"She cottoned on really quickly."

Ms Brown said having the arm had been a "game changer" for her.

"Being able to hold both my boys' hands as we cross the road, to take them to the park without having to rely on anybody else, is just amazing," she said.