A double amputee has become the first person in the world to control two prosthetic limbs with just his mind.

John Hopkins University announced that Les Baugh, a man who lost both his arms up to his shoulders in an electrical accident 40 years ago, has worn and controlled two Modular Prosthetic Limbs (MPL).

He was able to operate the system just by thinking about moving the prosthetic arms and scientists say he surpassed all expectations.

Courtney Moran, a prosthetist working with Baugh, said: "We expected him to exceed performance compared to what he might achieve with conventional systems, but the speed with which he learned motions and the number of motions he was able to control in such a short period of time was far beyond expectation.

Video courtesy of John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory