How microprocessor controlled prosthetic knees are 'changing the lives' of amputees in Wales

• ITV Wales' Health Reporter Katie Fenton reports

Two amputees who lost their legs in road accidents say their lives have been transformed after receiving new high-technology prosthetic knees.

Microprocessor Controlled Prosthetic Knees, or MPKs, only became available in Wales two years ago, making it the last new UK nation to offer them to all amputees.

The knee uses computer technology to constantly monitor the user's pattern of walking depending on their weight and speed - making it easier for them to navigate slopes, stairs, and uneven surfaces.

80 people across Wales have been fitted with one since a £700,000 Welsh Government fund was launched.

Previously, MPKs were only available to veterans who live in Wales and were injured in service.

Father-of-two Martin Padfield lost his left leg in a motorcycle accident 24 years ago and has campaigned for the introduction of MPKs in Wales.

The 49-year-old from Ebbw Vale even considered remortgaging his house to buy one, having worn around 20 prosthetic knees since his accident in 2000.

"Previously when I had my old legs I'd have to be thinking if I was walking on ice or down slopes, I would have to be really concentrating on what I was doing.

"Now with this leg, it's almost like I haven't got a false leg anymore. I can just carry on, not giving it a second thought where I am, what I'm doing. Life is just so much more care-free."

Previously a keen footballer, Martin said no longer being able to play was "by far the biggest tragedy" when he lost his leg.

"I just couldn't comprehend never playing football again and it was really, really difficult for me," he explained.

"I used to enjoy my sport so much before I lost my leg."

He now enjoys coaching his son's football team, and his new prosthetic has enabled him to become more involved.

"Coaching used to consist of me standing on the side-lines, just calling out instructions, but now since the MPK I've been able to get involved a lot more.

"I can be on the field with the children during a training session, showing them different drills, and just being a normal coach rather than a parent on the side shouting at my boy."

Richard Jones, from Tenby, lost his right leg in a car accident February 2020, after which he spent 10 days in a coma. He didn't realise he'd lost his leg for three weeks.

The 34 year-old dad-of-one was bed-bound for around 18 months while he recovered from multiple injuries.

"With the leg I had before I wouldn't have entertained picking my son up at all. I spent more time on the floor than I did standing up because there was no resistance with it.

"With the MPK, no matter where it's bent, you put the weight on, the resistance will hold you and support you.

"It's changed my life massively, and it's got me back out doing my sports, shooting and fishing, I can walk a couple of miles now where I would have really struggled to walk 100 yards.

"I can do it all."

Not everyone is eligible for an MPK, with amputees requiring a certain level of strength and balance among other criteria and the prosthetic's battery requiring regularly charging.

Nicola Cochrane, micro-processor physiotherapist at the artificial limb and appliance centre in Morriston Hospital, said demand has been high since the new technology became available in Wales.

"Lots of patients say if they'd had it 20-30 years ago it would have been amazing, so there definitely is a demand there for it.

"It's a huge opportunity for those patients and it gives them that extra potential and makes them feel that they can do those things that they couldn't previously do with a mechanical knee.

"It makes us feel really good."

The NHS Wales MPK funding is split across the three artificial limb and appliance centres in Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham.

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