Prosthetic embodiment: systematic review on definitions, measures, and experimental paradigms
Review article, 2022

The term embodiment has become omnipresent within prosthetics research and is often used as a metric of the progress made in prosthetic technologies, as well as a hallmark for user acceptance. However, despite the frequent use of the term, the concept of prosthetic embodiment is often left undefined or described incongruently, sometimes even within the same article. This terminological ambiguity complicates the comparison of studies using embodiment as a metric of success, which in turn hinders the advancement of prosthetics research. To resolve these terminological ambiguities, we systematically reviewed the used definitions of embodiment in the prosthetics literature. We performed a thematic analysis of the definitions and found that embodiment is often conceptualized in either of two frameworks based on body representations or experimental phenomenology. We concluded that treating prosthetic embodiment within an experimental phenomenological framework as the combination of ownership and agency allows for embodiment to be a quantifiable metric for use in translational research. To provide a common reference and guidance on how to best assess ownership and agency, we conducted a second systematic review, analyzing experiments and measures involving ownership and agency. Together, we highlight a pragmatic definition of prosthetic embodiment as the combination of ownership and agency, and in an accompanying article, we provide a perspective on a multi-dimensional framework for prosthetic embodiment. Here, we concluded by providing recommendations on metrics that allow for outcome comparisons between studies, thereby creating a common reference for further discussions within prosthetics research.

Agency

Embodiment

Prosthetics

Ownership

Body representation

Phenomenology

Author

Jan Zbinden

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control

Center for Bionics and Pain Research

Eva Lendaro

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control

Center for Bionics and Pain Research

Max Jair Ortiz Catalan

University of Gothenburg

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control

Center for Bionics and Pain Research

Sahlgrenska University Hospital

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation

17430003 (eISSN)

Vol. 19 1 37

Subject Categories

Media and Communication Technology

Interaction Technologies

Information Systemes, Social aspects

DOI

10.1186/s12984-022-01006-6

PubMed

35346251

More information

Latest update

4/25/2022