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What would be the most important thing to you after an industrial accident which caused you massive personal injury? A former mechanic from Germany who lost both arms in a catastrophic work accident in 2005 has described his joy at being able to drink beer after having the first set of 'intelligent' artificial limbs fitted two years ago. But before delving into the beer drinking antics of the bionic arm recipient it would be beneficial to have some understanding of the complex nature of these highly advanced prostheses.
The thought-powered limbs are controlled by electrical impulses from the brain which send messages via electrical connections through the nerve endings at the amputation site. The artificial limb then responds to these impulses and moves in the way the brain has intended it to.
The prosthetics were developed by Otto Bock healthcare company in conjunction with Viennese medical scientists, but before the apprentice could be fitted with the new limbs he had to undergo a complex operation to relocate crucial nerves.
A company spokesperson said, "After this selected nerve transfer surgery, the signals that were once responsible for controlling the arm are used for controlling the new prosthesis.
"Electrodes installed in the socket of the prosthesis respond to these control signals. When the user sends movement signals, a complex electronic analysis inside the prosthesis converts the signals and recognises the movements the user would like to make."
The personal injury victim has now learned to drive again in a specially modified car and has recently passed his driving test.
He told journalists, "The driving is really important to me, but now I can also drink a glass of beer without needing a straw. Now that's impressive!"
Impressive indeed and such an amazing breakthrough in medical science as well. Some years ago such bionics were the stuff of TV science fiction, where the creation of Steve Austin, the original Six Million Dollar Man, pre-empted this marvellous advance in personal injury treatment technique by over three decades.
Austin, appearing in several 1970s novels written by Martin Caidin, and played on TV by American actor Lee Majors, was a former astronaut who barely lived through a terrible aeronautical crash, but who was "rebuilt" in an operation that cost six million dollars. The fictional character had both legs, his right arm and his left eye replaced by "bionic" components which had the ability to give him greatly enhanced speed (running at 60mph or 100kmh), strength, and the capability to see beyond normal optic parameters by way of a 20:1 zoom lens in his eye, which also had infrared properties meaning he could see in the dark - all very useful.
Of course the original bionic man worked with the OSI - the Office of Scientific Intelligence - as a secret agent fighting against threats to national security, but the German former mechanic has gone back to the firm that employed him before the industrial accident to work as a warehouse clerk and this too, in reality, is an amazing feat.
And those clever bods at Otto Bock; they rebuilt him - they had the technology.