Hope for Irvine schoolboy who plays Xbox using chin after getting bionic arm

Inspirational Pierce Gilmour, 11, plays the games consul using his chin and tongue.

The remarkable youngster had to adapt to playing his favourite games after he was born without half of his right arm.

But thanks to a new hi-tech prosthetic, called a Hero Arm, Pierce could soon be able to play his Xbox with both arms.

Pierce received the £12,000 bionic arm last week thanks to an anonymous donor from Open Bionics.

Proud mum Claire Owens, 44, said her son has become an expert at playing Xbox with his chin and might not be as good with his new bionic arm.

Claire, from Irvine, North Ayrshire, said: "He is just like every other 11-year-old boy, he loves playing his X-box but has adapted by using his chin.

"But now he might be able to use both hands like everyone else.

"He's really good at the Xbox, he uses his other hand, chin and tongue to control it.

"I don't think this will change but the chance is still there for him to adapt - I'm just not sure if he will be as good at it if he uses his arm."

The world’s first medically approved 3D print bionic arm, the ‘hero arm’ was created by Open Bionics to improve the standard of life for people like Pierce.

The bionic arms work by picking up signals from Pierce's muscles.

When he puts on the bionic arm, special sensors detect tiny naturally generated electric signals and convert these into bionic hand movement.

The youngster has 4cm of arm muscle below his elbow and he will use that to operate the arm which allows him a number of grips such as pinch, fist and hook.

Mum of two Claire said she is thrilled her "special wee boy" was chosen for the hero's arm.

She said: "He was born with his forearm on his right side missing so it’s been a long time coming.

"We first found out about Open Bionics about three years ago but they cost £12,000 and we just don’t have that kind of money.

"But then an anonymous donor came forward and donated to Open Bionics and they called to say Pierce was one of the lucky ones who was going to be fitted for the bionic arm.

"I was so happy. It was very emotional. It’s just so wonderful he has been given this opportunity."

And Pierce has turned his disability into a superpower, taking his new arm to school to show his pals.

Claire, who works as a waste awareness officer, added: "He was very excited when it arrived and took it into school to show his friends.

"He is going to high school next year and I was worried that his disability might hold him back in technical classes.

"But now he has the bionic arm he will be able to do the same as other kids.

"With the woodwork classes, it means he will be able to hold wood and saw it.

"The other arm is there to help him grip things because a lot of times I have had to hold things for him at home.

Having the arm also means Pierce will get to fulfil his lifelong dream of learning to ride his bike after years of struggling.

Claire said: "He has had a bike for a few years now and tried once to ride it and fell off.

"He was so disappointed, but now he has the bionic arm he might finally be able to ride it."

Brave Pierce said the bionic arm is going to change his life and enable him to do things he has never been able to before.

He said: "What I am hoping to do with this arm is to ride my bike, be able to do technological studies, baking and all that.

"Most of those things are really hard for me because I only have one hand.

"It's going to change my life in a lot of ways.

"It's really good that I'm going to learn stuff with it, do new sports with it and stuff that I've never been able to do in my life."

Claire, who is also mum to five-year-old Lilly, says she and fiancé Colin Dickson, 45, have been amazed at how Pierce has adapted.

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She said: "The Hero Arm will take a while for him to get used to, but we have learned over the years that Pierce can just adapt to anything.

"Previous bionic arms were made from heavy materials but this one is much lighter.

"It is still heavy for Pierce and after 10 minutes it gets sore, so he just needs to get used to it."

Claire said Pierce’s disability was not picked up initially during her pregnancy but due to a genetic heart problem that runs in her family, she had to go for a late scan.

Doctors discovered a part of Pierce's arm was missing when she was eight months pregnant.

She said: "It wasn’t picked up at my 12-week or 20-week scans, but then they saw it when I had a late scan.

"To be honest that news might be scary to some people but I was just so thankful he didn’t have anything wrong with his heart, I didn’t care about the arm.

"It was actually a relief."