An Edinburgh prosthetist who lost his arm when he was run over by an articulated lorry has returned to work with a state of the art bionic limb.
The Daily Record reports Dr Jim Ashworth-Beaumont had his right arm amputated after he was left trapped under a 40-tonne lorry that ‘side-swiped’ his bike.
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The incident happened in July 2020 but he spent six months in an induced coma to recover from the injuries sustained.
Jim, 55, was determined to recover to return to his job designing and fitting artificial limbs for NHS patients.
With help from three of Britain's largest prosthetics companies who had come together to “help one of their own”, Jim has now been fitted with a custom made, revolutionary electronic arm.
Using electronic signals from his remaining muscles allows the arm to cleverly make hand and wrist movements. The arm also comes with different attachments that can be used depending on the task Jim is doing.
For every day use he uses an ssur ‘i-limb quantum’ hand that allows for precision activities such as holding cutlery and shaking hands.
When at work a more heavy duty hand is required called an Otto Bock Greifer ‘gripper’ hand which can be used to handle heavy objects and use tools in a workshop
An ‘Expire Pro’ elbow was designed by Steepers which contains the ‘brain’ mechanism that allows the arm to work with the hand attachments using muscle electricity.
With other features such as a light to help focus on fiddly tasks in the workshop and the ability to lift objects up to 8lbs it is perfect for use as Jim returns to work with patients.
The arm was designed by a former Strathclyde University friend, Allan Mcdougall, who is now the clinic manager at Surrey-based ProActive Prosthetics.
Allan came up with the design to specifically fit Jim’s work requirements and contacted colleagues Otto Bock, Ossur and Steeper, who supplied the devices for free.
Jim was training for a triathlon when he was almost killed by the horrific accident. Losing a limb he thought his career would be difficult to get back into.
Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: "I have been completely blown away by the cooperation and generosity of these three amazing companies as well as Alan and the team at Proactive.
"The separate component parts already exist but the way they have been configured is unique to me.
"The arm really is clever and works with me to carry out the tasks I need to complete every day.
"I can manipulate items and grab uneven-shaped objects like cups, tools or something as fragile as an apple, my grip automatically conforming to shape as I grasp.
"The elbow and wrist amplify the power of my body movement and allows me to get my hand to where it needs to be quickly and efficiently.
"At the same time the arm is light enough for me to take it off and pop it in my rucksack! I commute to work by running and on the tube, put the arm on when I get to work and pop it back in my bag when I go home.
"If I am doing something at home like cooking or housework or DIY then I can just put it back on again."
"The bottom line for me is that this arm represents the difference between me being independent and able to carry on working and not working and having restricted independence."
While originally from Edinburgh he works at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London.
The collision happened in Catford, while Jim was stopped at a set of traffic lights the lorry pulled up and collided with him.
The truck severed his arm by rolling over it and nearly killed him.
He said: "I was aware of the wheels of the articulated lorry rolling up my arm and I was convinced the next part of my body to be hit would be my head. I was pretty convinced that I was going to die."
His arm had to be amputated at the scene of the incident to free him from the truck to airlift him to Kings College Hospital.
Suffering injuries to his legs, lungs, liver, kidney, spine, ribs, face and arms it was uncertain whether Jim would survive the ordeal.
Allan, who is from East Kilbride, contacted Jim during his recovery to offer support and assistance.
He said: "We got Jim in for an assessment but realistically what he needed was going to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
"He didn't have that cash so having contacts in the prosthetic world I thought 'can I put all the different parts together and see what we can come up with?'
"Jim still has his bicep and tricep muscles there and he can still fire those muscles by sending electrical signals from the brain, it's just that they don't control the elbow which is no longer there.
"We have put electric censors over those muscles and they pick up the electric signals and transfer them to the new elbow and arm.
"The elbow can flex and extend, the wrist can rotate and the hand can open and close.
"There is quite a lot to learn, it is not just a case of pop it on and off you go.
"He can only control one joint at a time. So picking something up from off the shelf for example requires shoulder, elbow, hand and wrist movement.
"For a normal person that would take one second but for Jim it is moving one joint at a time and the process will take five seconds."
