Improvement on upper limb body-powered prostheses (1921-2016): A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Prosthetics and Orthotics

Background:

• Body-powered prostheses offer advantages in cost, reliability, training, maintenance, and proprioceptive feedback.
• Despite benefits, research on improving these devices has lagged behind other technologies like myoelectric prostheses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and analyze the design and development of upper limb body-powered prostheses published before 2016.
• To identify trends, publication patterns, and areas of focus in the research landscape of body-powered prostheses.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Google Patents (1921-2016).
• Analysis of 40 papers categorized under 'Design and Development' using Sackett's rules of evidence.
• Categorization of papers based on research focus, with a majority (81%) involving mechanical alterations.

Main Results:

• A limited number of studies (40) focused on the design and development of body-powered upper limb prostheses prior to 2016.
• The majority of analyzed papers (48%) were patent documents, indicating a focus on invention over extensive research.
• Research output was sparse, with publications appearing only once every three years over a century.

Conclusions:

• The field of body-powered upper limb prostheses has seen limited research and development over the past century, especially compared to myoelectric alternatives.
• Mechanical alterations represent the primary focus of existing research in this area.
• Further investigation is recommended for aspects of body-powered prostheses that have received less attention to drive future innovation.