Integration of proprioception in upper limb prostheses through non-invasive strategies: a review.
Ermanno Donato Papaleo, Marco D'Alonzo, Francesca Fiori and 6 others
PMID 37689701WHAT IT FOUND
Non-invasive feedback for upper-limb prostheses can improve position and force tasks in lab studies, but results are mixed and mostly able-bodied.
It is not proven to change everyday prosthesis use.
Key findings
01Across the reviewed studies, no single non-invasive feedback method emerged as clearly best for restoring proprioception in upper-limb prostheses.
02Some vibrotactile and electrotactile feedback improved laboratory grasping or matching tasks compared with no feedback, but visual feedback often performed as well or better.
03Most evidence comes from short laboratory tasks in people without amputation, so effects on amputees' everyday prosthetic use are not established.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
This is a review of other studies, not a clinical trial of one device in real patients, so it cannot show what will happen in your clinic. Most studies used short laboratory tasks, small samples, and people without amputation; few included amputees, and those samples were tiny. Many studies compared feedback with no feedback, while visual feedback often performed as well or better, so the artificial feedback may add little beyond usual watching. The devices had practical problems such as bulky size, power use, habituation, pain with electrodes, and interference with hearing or vision. Effects on everyday prosthesis use, embodiment, phantom limb pain, and long-term training were not established.
Declared interests
The work was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857959 (Project FLIP: Fostering Human-Technology Integration through Proprioceptive Feedback). The supplied text does not state any competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that non-invasive proprioceptive feedback is ready to improve everyday upper-limb prosthesis use. Most evidence is short and laboratory-based, often in able-bodied participants, and visual feedback frequently performed as well or better.