REHABILITATION technology that stroke patients can operate in their own homes while playing computer games is being developed by academics in the UK.

Therapists, doctors, engineers and psychologists at the University of Southampton, southern England, have come together to set up ARM (assessment, rehabilitation, movement), a unique initiative that is using ideas from industrial robots to help patients regain and control movement of their arms and hands after a stroke.

"We felt it was important for people to have fun while they recovered," said Professor Jane Burridge of Southampton University's School of Health Sciences. "In fact we find it's often difficult to get them to stop playing the computer games.

"As far as we know, no-one has tried using this technique - iterative learning control - to help people move again after a stroke and much of the research and rehabilitation into the effects of stroke has focused on walking. We believe ARM is a great example of how state-of-the-art control theory, normally used for industrial robots, can be applied to challenges in rehabilitation."

Professor Burridge is leading the ARM team that is the first group to take such a comprehensive approach to upper-limb stroke rehabilitation.

The pioneering system developed by researchers at the university's School of Electronics & Computer Science, working with colleagues in the health sciences department, aims to retrain weak or paralysed arm muscles in patients who have suffered brain damage as a result of a stroke.

After initial successful trials at the university, the ARM researchers applied the system to retrain hand and arm function using computer games technology. Their research has attracted considerable attention and interest, including national and international awards.

"We can use state-of-the-art engineering discoveries to make a real difference to people's lives," added Professor Burridge. "We are also breaking new ground in understanding how the brain recovers the ability to control movement of the arm and hand after stroke. This is essential knowledge to enable us to develop and test new treatments."

In collaboration with the ARM team, National Health Service hospitals and the universities of Bournemouth and Keele (both in England) have already attracted a grant of two million pounds from the National Institute for Health Research to take rehabilitation technology out of the laboratory and into healthcare practice nationally.

"By assembling a multidisciplinary team and bringing together their insights and expertise, we want to improve people's quality of life after stroke by helping them regain the use of their arms," said Professor Burridge."With this new technique, our patients can actually see their progress - and work to improve their performance, and have fun at the same time!"

With about 500 researchers and 900 undergraduate students, the School of Electronics & Computer Science at Southampton is one of the world's largest and most successful integrated research groupings, covering computer science, software engineering, electronics, electrical engineering and IT.