A boy of five born without a left hand is now the youngest person in the world to get a bionic Hero Arm, thanks to British expertise.
Jordan Marotta’s mum, Ashley Marotta, said the Iron Man-style limb gave her son an “instant confidence boost”. Heartwarming footage showed him just hours after the fitting whizzing around on his scooter while holding the handlebars with his arm in a lifelike grip.
Jordan said: “It’s really fun, and it’s cool. I like to play with the hand and make it open and close.” Bristol-based Open Bionics, which was founded in 2014 and launched four clinics in America last year, produces custom-made, 3D-printed prosthetics.
The prosthetic uses sensors which detect muscular contractions and turn them into bionic hand movements. Most kids with Hero Arms are seven or older but the firm agreed to fit Jordan with one as his size and high IQ meant he was easy to teach how to use it. The previous youngest user was a six-year-old from Los Angeles. Several British youngsters, like Louie Morgan-Kemp of Swavesey, Cambs, also have Hero Arms.
Jordan stopped using a previous prosthetic because of the lack of functionality. His mum had been following Open Bionics on Facebook and contacted the company when it opened a clinic in New York. The arm was paid for by insurance and Ashley, of Long Island, New York, said she was “so grateful” to Open Bionics. She said: “He picked it up right away. He was running around with so much confidence trying to hail New York taxis.
“It was an instant confidence boost; the Hero Arm really makes him feel like a superhero and he is superhero obsessed. He wanted to rush back to his school to show his teachers and friends.” Clinician Daniel Green, of Open Bionics in New York, said it was a “pleasure” to help Jordan and his family.