THE first "robot physio" was demonstrated in the region last night.

But if scientists and designers have their way, the Newcastle-buit robot will be just one of many inventions to help elderly people.

The table-top machine, which can help stroke victims regain mobility in their hands, is the first fruits of a new initiative.

Called the North East Network for Assistive Technology, the AsTech Network, as it will be known, brings together the cream of regional talent.

Uniting leading scientists and designers at the region's five universities, the initiative aims to develop ways to help older people to maintain their independence and quality of life.

The aim is to meet the growing need for devices that can support the very elderly in their own homes for as long as possible.

As well as five universities - Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Teesside and Sunderland - the network involves NHS trusts, social service departments, business and voluntary sector organisations across the region. The aim is to stimulate the invention, design, testing and commercial manufacture of a range of assistive devices using the latest technologies.

Professor Garth Johnson, whose team at Newcastle University is making intelligent robots, said he was not seeking to replace human therapists but to encourage an alliance between man and machine.

"In an ideal world someone recovering from a stroke or a head injury would get six to seven hours of physio a day. That is not happening so we must look at using assistive devices to help the therapist," said Prof Johnson, a bioengineer who is the first director of the AsTech Network.

The robot can be programmed by a therapist to provide a degree of resistance to the patient's hand. By grasping a pencil-like extension and moving it while watching an image on a screen the patient can take exercise.

Prof Johnson said the falling cost of computing combined with advances in robotics "will have a dramatic impact on our ability to rehabilitate and support older people."

Areas of research include ways of helping older drivers stay behind the wheel and making town planning more friendly to memory impaired patients.