“I know first-hand what was taken away from me when I had my injury. Not being able to use your hands does limit you quite a bit.

“Being in a wheelchair not being able to walk isn’t the biggest thing it is the lack of independence because I have to rely on so many people for other things.

“The complex task of picking up a bottle and pouring something in and picking up a stirrer and can turn into a lot of daily tasks which I can’t do now. It will really increase my quality of life and independence and decrease the amount of assistance I need form other people.

“I am hoping it will be something that I will be able to use outside of the home. It would then allow me to function as a normal member of society. You’re not going to be looked on a cyborg because you have this big prosthetic on your arm.”

Mr Burkhart underwent a four hour operation to have an array of tiny electrodes implanted in the motor cortex of his brain where all movement begins. The researchers say it effectively creates a ‘bypass’ to the usual neural systems and instead translates electrical activity into signals which can be read by a computer and then linked up to corresponding muscles.