Effect of Tactile and Deep Sensory Feedback Synchronized with the Manipulation of Myoelectric Hand on Body Recognition

Currently, myoelectric prosthetic hands are not recognized as part of the body due to the lack of sensory feedback (FB). To address this issue, it is necessary to investigate the factors that influence body recognition. Most existing research focuses on stationary prosthetic hands, such as in the rubber hand illusion, and discusses two concepts: sense of ownership (SO) and sense of agency (SA). SO refers to the feeling that a body part belongs to one's own body, while SA refers to the feeling that one is in control of the movements of one's own body parts. In this study, we developed a wearable and operable prototype myoelectric prosthetic hand equipped with tactile and deep sensory feedback, rather than a stationary prosthetic hand. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of tactile and deep sensory feedback on body recognition through psychophysical experiments. The results indicated that tactile feedback improved body recognition and deep sensory feedback improved SO; however, no effect was observed on SA.