David Gow began to work at the Bio-engineering Centre at the Princess Margaret Rose Hospital (PMR) as a Research Associate in 1981, and became a licensed bio-engineer for the Lothian Health Board in 1984. He is best known for inventing the Edinburgh Modular Arm System (EMAS) in 1998, the world’s first myoelectrically controlled arm with a powered shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers, and for inventing the i-limb, the first ever artificial hand with independently powered digits, in 2007. He stepped down as Director from the bio-engineering company he founded, TouchBionics, in 2009, and retired from his role as Director of the Southeastern Mobility and Rehabilitation Technology (SMART) Centre at Astley Ainslie Hospital in 2015.

This interview was conducted in 2018 by Louise Williams, LHSA Archivist.