Fitness tights help improve astronaut training regime

As part of a GSTP activity (G613-020MM), a new wearable muscle monitoring system has been designed to gather scientific information about differences in the efficacy of physical exercise on Earth and in Space.

By monitoring muscular activity, fluid shifts and degeneration of astronauts anti-gravity muscles non-invasively, the wearable tights designed by Ohmatex from Denmark, ensure precise placement of integrated sensors without time consuming positioning and attachment of independent measuring devices.

Over the past 15 years, wearable sensing solutions that use garments to position sensors and ensure their close skin contact to test for basic physiological functions have been widely demonstrated. But Ohmatex wanted to optimise and integrate wearable Electromyography sensors (EMG) for monitoring muscle activation, Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS) sensors to measure muscle oxygenation (metabolism) and dielectric electro-active polymer strain sensors to measure limb circumference and limb volume – to provide information about short-term fluid shifts and muscle atrophy.

Despite the low maturity of the system (the electronics were built using breadboard electronics), all three sensing technologies were successfully built and validated, reaching their targeted TRL’s in clinical trials, which simulated use in a relevant environment.

Together with insights into how fluid shifts influence training, this technology will allow ESA’s physiologists to adapt ISS training programs to individual astronauts, and since it is equally applicable to athletes and for rehabilitation is currently the basis for a spin-off commercial product that will aid optimisation of training for athletes.