Prosthetic arms designed for children born without limbs, due to exposure to the drug thalidomide. Thalidomide was developed in West Germany in the mid-1950s and was initially used as a sedative and an anti-emetic until the discovery that it caused severe fetal malformations. The arms were developed at Princess Margaret Rose Hospital, Edinburgh. The muscles around the child’s shoulder blades were used to control movement of one of the artificial arms. The movements were powered by compressed carbon dioxide stored in cylinders in the other “passive” arm.
