The arm developed at Cambridge University , UK, is designed to allow wheelchair users to move their own limbs - but to give them added strength. Researchers said it could help people with conditions such as muscular dystrophy or motor neurone disease.
Users have their arm in a sling device - so they can move it horizontally.
They can then use a switch to raise or lower the arm. 80 volunteers have assessed the device and 85 per cent gave it positive reports. A design companer, Neater Solutions, is now involved in developing a marketable model. It has the potential to give people with diseases such as muscular dystrophy a greater degree of independence and it can also help exercise joints and muscles.