Electrodermal activity (EDA), also known as skin conductance or galvanic skin response, is the property of the human body that causes continuous variation in the electrical characteristics of the skinand can tell us a lot about the state of our body and mind.
Most commonly, it’s used to detect stress levels and tends to increase with emotional or physical arousal.
Significant EDA responses have also been shown to be correlated with tonic-clonic seizures. In fact, it’s something that our Chief Scientist and Co-Founder, Dr. Rosalind Picard discovered during one of her studies. This discovery inspired us to build a significantly more accurate method of detecting tonic-clonic seizures.
What affects EDA?
Several factors can raise your EDA, such as physical activity, excitement, and stress. EDA can also fluctuate based on daily water intake and with certain medications. The measurements of EDA can be affected by skin hydration and where the sensors are placed.
How does Embrace measure EDA?
The electrodes on the back of the device are in constant contact with the skin and can measure the subtle changes of electrical current passing through it.
What role does EDA play in our seizure monitoring algorithm?
EDA helps make our algorithm more precise, and less likely to trigger false alarms, than relying solely on movement data. We continue to analyze characteristic EDA signatures of tonic-clonic seizures to further improve our algorithm.