Electrodermal Activity-Based Stress Measurement Using Continuous Deconvolution Analysis Method

Stress is a psychological response that must be handled properly, or it can affect psychology and trigger other complicated diseases. Nowadays, stress measured by filling out stress-related forms or interviews with a psychologist. This method still requires a willingness from the patient to consult their condition, which is often not giving the best result due to late treatment. Therefore, we need a system to monitor a person’s stress level conditions independently so they could be threatened quickly if their state gets worsen. One of the non-invasive methods that can be used to measure stress is an Electrodermal Activity (EDA) sensor. EDA is known to be associated with sweat gland activity regulated by SudoMotor Nerve Activity (SMNA), which response to a stressor. However, the SMNA need to decompose into the Skin Conductance Response (SCR) before it could represent stress condition. Hence, the decomposition stage is essential in measuring the quality of the stress condition. In this study, the EDA sensor placed in the palm to obtain the skin conductivity signal. Then, the skin conductivity signals were deconvolved using the Continuous Deconvolution Analysis (CDA) method to capture the SCR. CDA was chosen because it could produce a zero-based line SCR driver and could separate two overlapping peaks in SCR. The result, CDA is adequate to extract SCR, which is shown by the zero baseline of the SCR driver line with a clear peak. The clear SCR peaks are essential for identifying the responses related to the stimulus (stressor).