The field of Neuro-Engineering seems to be on the fast track towards accomplishing its ultimate goal of potentially replacing the nervous system in the face of disease. Meanwhile, the patients and professionals involved are continuously dealing with human bodily experience and especially how neuro-engineering devices could become part of a user's body schema: the domain of 'embodied phenomenology'. This focus on embodiment, however, is not sufficiently reflected in the current literature on ethical and philosophical issues in neuro-engineering. In this article we will focus on this lacuna by explaining existing data on neuro-engineering user's experiences by using phenomenological concepts such as transparency and the concepts that may facilitate this: functionality, sensorimotor feedback and affective tolerance. By introducing and applying these concepts to four real life case examples, we will discuss practical implications and guidelines which can contribute to the actual success of incorporation of the device by the patient. First, we will discuss the importance of a 'Patient Preference Diagnosis' (PPD), which can serve as a way to prepare the patient for the existential reorientation involved in the process. In addition, a Patient Transparency Diagnosis (PTD) during and after such a process is also relevant when wanting to provide the medical field in general with feedback, and the patient in particular with possibilities to fine-tune the device. From these practical guidelines we will conclude that the phenomenological approach can be very valuable when applied to the field of neuro-engineering.

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It is with great pleasure that we read the qualitative study by Vázquez-Fariñas and Rodri ́guez-Martin [1], describing an extensive, interview-based qualitative study into patients' perceptions on bodily changes after Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). The authors include a heterogenous cohort of Spanish SCI patients from different gender groups, ages and levels of injury and group their findings on patient perceptions of bodily changes after SCI into two main categories: changes in body schema and an increase in bodily awareness. The authors conclude that 'when healthcare professionals are aware of the changes affecting the body after a spinal cord injury, they display more favorable attitudes and are more involved in promoting the patients' adaptation to their new body schema'. We agree with the author's conclusions and would like to emphasize the importance of this type of work for the field of rehabilitation medicine in general. In previous work centering around embodiment of neural implants for motor recovery after SCI [2], we used similar terminology such as body schema and body image as reported by Vázquez-Fariñas and Rodri ́guez-Martin [1]. In this response, we would like to strengthen the