Development of a small footprint device for measuring electrodermal activity in the palm of the hand

This paper describes the proof of concept for a wearable device that measures skin conductance, to provide a way of quantifying an individual’s physiological stress response to external stimuli. Important goals of the project were to have reliable measurements that correlate with the external stimuli, as well as a small footprint and low power consumption to facilitate battery powered operation.

These goals were accomplished using a STM32L476 micro-controller to generate an AC sine voltage across two solid gel electrodes placed in the palm of the hand, converting the resulting current to a voltage with a trans-impedance amplifier, which was then sampled and processed digitally in a lock-in amplifier, to eliminate signals differing from the desired (reference) frequency and phase. The output of the lock-in amplifier represents the skin conductance and was transmitted over USB to a computer with software for serial capture.