A robotic glove designed to improve muscle weakness has received support from the Edinburgh Business School’s Incubator, meaning potentially millions could recover muscle grip in their hands.

The glove, based on AI technology, is aimed at the 2.5 million people living in Britain that suffer from hand weakness because of muscle mass loss as they age or due to illnesses like Multiple sclerosis, Motor Neurone Disease and carpal tunnel syndrome.

The technology, developed by Scottish start-up BioLiberty, uses Electromyography (EMG) to measure electrical activity in response to a nerve's stimulation of the muscle, which enables the glove to detect a user’s intention to grip.

It then employs an algorithm to convert the intention into force, helping the user to hold an item or apply the necessary pressure to complete an activity.

“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,” said co-founder of BioLiberty, Ross O’Hanlon. “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 aging by enabling individuals to live more comfortably in their own homes for longer."

He added: “While there are many gadgets on the market that address a specific grip challenge such as tools to help open jars, I wanted an all-encompassing solution to support a range of daily tasks. We founded BioLiberty while studying and we’ve already achieved a working prototype but, with a background in engineering, converting a good idea into a successful business can be overwhelming.”

Up until now the company has been funded by business competition awards, so being accepted into Edinburgh Business School’s Incubator programme represents a significant boost for the company.

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