THE world-beating operation to give a Poole woman a "bionic" arm implant was yesterday declared a success.

Fran Read, 46, who was left partially paralysed following a stroke, had the operation at Southampton General Hospital.

She will spend the next three months relearning muscle movements to produce co-ordinated hand and arm movement.

The hairdresser suffered a stroke nine years ago and a second in 2002.

Doctors fitted five 1.7cm long microstimulators in her arm two weeks ago.

Yesterday they completed the procedure by fitting a radio frequency cuff to her arm, which will relay signals from a computer to the implants.

Over the next few months Fran will be able to activate the programmed microstimulators at the touch of a button on a portable control unit.

She eventually hopes her movement and co-ordination will improve enough to allow her to play netball again.

The system will provide electrical stimulation to control and re-educate weak or paralysed muscles so that movement can eventually be regained.

Dr Jane Burridge, senior lecturer in neuro-rehabilitation at Southampton University, said: "The procedure to programme the individual stimulators was successful, but it is still very early days.

"The device is not something that will replace her movement. It will help her to relearn movement.

"It will be in place for three months and the patient will use the cuff to exercise muscles for an hour or so a day. It's like a form of therapy.

"At the end of it we hope that her movements will be better."

Dr Burridge said she hoped that the procedure would benefit stroke patients in the future but admitted that it could take a long time before these research procedures are available as mainstream treatment.

"I would not be doing this if I did not think it was going to be beneficial to stroke patients," she said.

Similar devices have been implanted in patients' arms or shoulders in the US, Canada and Japan.

However, yesterday was the first time an operation has taken place to achieve a co-ordinated hand and arm movement.

The operation is the latest stage in a long-term study by Southampton University with the Alfred Mann Foundation.