An engineer has created a robotic glove which uses artificial intelligence to improve muscle grip.
BioLiberty - the Scottish start-up Ross O'Hanlon co-founder with fellow Edinburgh University graduates - has unveiled its first product, which detects the wear's intention using electromyography (EMT).
This process measures electrical activity created in response a nerve's stimulation of the muscle, before an algorithm then converts this intention into force.
O'Hanlon wants to help millions of people suffering with hand weaknesses after seeing his aunt - who has multiple sclerosis - struggling with everyday tasks.
The 24-year-old graduate said: "Being an engineer, I decided to use technology to tackle these challenges head on with the aim of helping people like my aunt to retain their autonomy.
"As well as those affected by illness, the population continues to age and this places increasing pressure on care services.
"We wanted to support independent living and healthy ageing by enabling individuals to live more comfortably in their own homes for longer."
The BioLiberty team has a working prototype, and they have landed support from Edinburgh Business School's Incubator, which is based at Heriot-Watt University.
On the start-ups website, they add: "A loss of hand strength affects over 2.5 million UK citizens. Our goal is to restore independence among those who have lost hand strength. BioLiberty's solution gives grip strength a hand."
BANG ShowBiz Tech