Kayin Davis

Kayin Davis

Biography

Kayin Davis is a rising senior pursuing mechanical engineering as a member of Howard
University’s Karsh STEM Scholars PhD Pathway Program. He plans to pursue a PhD in
biomechanical engineering, applying principles of mechanical design and biomechanics to
advance research on musculoskeletal medical devices. His passion stems from a desire to
develop new medical technologies that both save and improve lives worldwide. Kayin has
pursued computational aerospace research through Howard University’s @FTER Lab, as well
as experimental nanomaterials research through Columbia University’s MRSEC REU. At MIT,
he works with Professor Dava Newman on integrating NMES systems with the GLCS skinsuit
to counteract musculoskeletal deconditioning in long-duration human spaceflights. Kayin is
also the president of Howard’s ASME chapter and is dedicated to uniting a diverse community
of aspiring engineers while providing them with opportunities to advance their academic and
career journeys.

Electrical Stimulation Skinsuit to Combat Musculoskeletal Deconditioning in
Long-Duration Human Spaceflight
Kayin Davis1, Nicole Lee2, Dava Newman2
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Howard University
2Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

During long-duration space missions, astronauts are subject to microgravity, where the lack of
gravitational loading on the body causes musculoskeletal deconditioning. Current
countermeasures for this rely on specialized treadmills and resistance training equipment to
reduce muscle and bone density loss, but for future lunar and Martian missions with
limited vessel capacity, more compact countermeasures are necessary. Neuromuscular
electrical stimulation (NMES) systems are wearable devices that induce involuntary
contractions using electrical stimulation. Additionally, the gravity loading countermeasure
skinsuit (GLCS) is an intravehicular activity suit that simulates Earth’s gravitational loading
using fiber tension to produce an axial compression. This project aims to use embroidered
textile electrodes to seamlessly integrate the NMES systems into the GLCS skinsuit. By testing
the effect of pressure, stitch parameters, and moisture content on the system’s impedance, the
safety and effectiveness of the skinsuit can be tested. Because dry textile electrodes are
sometimes known to cause skin burns and have poor performance, optimizing these parameters
to minimize impedance is critical. Combining these two technologies will create a skinsuit that
can effectively reduce muscle atrophy and bone density loss by targeting both type 1 and type
2 muscle fibers, giving it high potential for use in future space missions.