Photo: Bioness Inc.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for a Valencia biotech firm to market a therapeutic device that helps restore hand functionality in patients suffering from paralysis.

Bioness Inc., located in the Rye Canyon Business Park, made the announcement Tuesday. Later this year it will make its NESS H200 Wireless Hand Rehabilitation System available to neurorehabilitation hospitals and medical centers in the United States and Europe, and to consumers for home use.

Hand paralysis includes the loss of feeling, dexterity and function in one or more muscles groups of the hand and forearm. It can result from stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury or cerebral palsy, the company says. The NESS H200 uses low-level electrical stimulation to activate hand and forearm muscles. The device is intended to provide certain individuals with hand paralysis the ability to grasp and release objects while performing ordinary daily activities.

“The more patients are able to be active and integrate therapy into their day to day lives, the better their outcomes,” Bioness Vice President Todd Cushman said in a statement. “Our NESS H200 wireless device provides millions of stroke survivors that suffer hand paralysis a way to seamlessly and practically incorporate hand and arm activity into everyday life, allowing for increased therapy time with improved outcomes.”

Earlier this year the FDA approved another Bioness device that helps sufferers walk again.