The Food and Drug Administration has approved marketing of the first powered prosthetic arm that can be controlled by the thoughts of its user, MedPage Today reports.

Made by New Hampshire-based DEKA Integrated Solutions, the device detects and translates "electromyographic activity" in nearby muscles — which the user can consciously control — into signals that direct specific movements and actions in the prosthetic arm.

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 It's the same size and weight as a normal adult arm and can move in 10 different ways, according to the FDA. Approval was based tests of the device involving 36 patients in the Veterans Affairs medical system.
 

"The study found that approximately 90 percent of study participants were able to perform activities with the DEKA Arm System that they were not able to perform with their current prosthesis, such as using keys and locks, preparing food, feeding oneself, using zippers, and brushing and combing hair," the FDA said.
 

"This innovative prosthesis provides a new option for people with certain kinds of arm amputations," said Christy Foreman, director of the Office of Device Evaluation at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, in a statement.
 

"The DEKA Arm System may allow some people to perform more complex tasks than they can with current prostheses in a way that more closely resembles the natural motion of the arm."