The Pip measures electrodermal activity (EDA; skin conductance) from the fingertips, the most sensitive place from which to take this measure. It uses two precision engineered gold plated sensors which are gripped lightly between the thumb and forefinger meaning it does not need electrode gel to take the measurement or to be attached to the hand. The Pip is wireless and pairs to smart devices such as phones and tablets via Bluetooth. This makes the Pip easily portable for use both inside and outside of the laboratory. It is also possible to access previously collected Pip data from any computer using our Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant cloud based platform, My Pip (see FAQ on data from the Pip).

The Pip measures electrodermal activity (EDA; skin conductance) which is a measure of sympathetic nervous system activity and is therefore a physiological indicator of stress. This measure can be used in much the same way as blood pressure, heart rate or cortisol can be to measure stress. The Pip can be used as both a measure of and an intervention for stress depending on how it is used. To use the Pip as a measurement tool participants can use The Stress Tracker app which shows real-time changes in skin conductance over a period of 2 to 20 minutes as set by the user in advance. The resulting statistics, analysed by our algorithm, will indicate participants’ level of stress. We would suggest not allowing participants to view the screen while the measurement is being taken. This is for the same reason that you do not show participants the screen when measuring heart rate as the response to seeing the measurement onscreen can influence the measurement itself.

As both raw baseline electrodermal activity (EDA; skin conductance) and extent of change in EDA vary widely between people our proprietary algorithm does not determine stress based on absolute values of EDA. Instead it tracks changes (slopes up or down) in EDA over the period of time that the user is holding the Pip. This means that it is possible to compare both within person changes over time and between person differences. At the end of each session with the Pip the raw data will be summarised in a series of scores calculated by the algorithm. These are: the Pip score, relax events, steady events and stress events (see ‘what outcome statistics will the Pip give me?’ for detail on each of these) that can be used as outcome measures. If, however, you need access to the raw data for your research you can contact us at hello@thepip.com to arrange.

The Pip measures electrodermal activity (EDA: skin conductance) 8 times per second.  The Pip’s signal analysis algorithm processes the raw skin conductance in real time in order to identify three classes of event: stress, relaxation and steady (the latter indicating that the user is neither stressing nor relaxing).

Stress events are accorded more weight than relax events since skin conductance reactions (SCRs) indicate arousal of the sympathetic nervous system whereas a decreasing trend in the skin conductance indicates inactivity in the SNS which may be directly due to relaxation, but also may be related to basic physiological processes such as thermoregulation.

The Pip Score statistic is calculated from the relative number of stress/relax/steady events detected during a Pip session. A score of 100% corresponds to the user achieving the theoretical maximum number of relax events achievable for the session duration, with no stress or steady events. In practice, we incorporate a tolerance so that a sequence of relax events close to the maximum can also produce a score of 100%.

At the end of each session the app will give a breakdown of results. These are as follows:

• Time: this is the time taken to complete the session if playing one of the games (Relax and Race or the Loom). The more the participant relaxes the faster they will progress in the game.
• Stress events: this is the number of times when an increasing trend was identified in the electrodermal activity (EDA; skin conductance), indicating stress.
• Relax events: this is the number of times when a decreasing trend was identified in the EDA, indicating relaxation.
• Steady events: this is the number of times when no specific trend (stressing or relaxing) was identified in the EDA.
• The Pip score: this is a summary score of the three measures above scored out of 100. Higher scores indicate lower levels of stress over the session.

You can track and compare these variables over time or between participants depending on the design of your study.

For information on how these variables are calculated see “What is the Pip algorithm measuring?”

The Pip can be used as a stand-alone or as a complementary tool in stress management interventions depending on the research question of interest. Previous research has shown that the Pip reduces heart rate and perceived stress following 30 minutes of play compared to control games. Some Pips also include guided meditation (Clarity) and mindfulness (4 Steps to Mindfulness) interventions that allow users to practice these techniques and see the results in real-time.

Data from the Pip is stored on a device level and also uploaded to our remote cloud platform, My Pip. Data storage is fully secure and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. With My Pip it is therefore possible to track participants remotely and over time allowing for easier study design and data storage, particularly for studies taking place over a few weeks or months.

Dillon A, Kelly M, Robertson IH, Robertson DA, Smartphone applications utilizing biofeedback can aid stress reduction. Frontiers of Psychology (Under Review).

Yes the Pip can be used as a stand-alone or as a complementary tool for interventions such as mindfulness. The Pip uses biofeedback to aid stress reduction. It is therefore essentially a window into a participant’s physiological state. This means that the Pip can be used in conjunction and add an extra important element to other interventions by showing participants exactly when and how the techniques are working at a physiological and psychological level.

Session statistics are provided at the end of every session (for more information on the statistics given see “What outcome statistics will the Pip give me?”). These are stored on the device and are also uploaded to My Pip, the secure cloud-based platform to allow monitoring of data over time. My Pip gives additional statistics such as the number of sessions completed in total, the average

My Pip is fully secure and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. One Pip can be used by different people and the statistics assigned to their personal My Pip account by signing in to the relevant account before using the Pip.

If you need access to the raw data this is possible but not on the commercially available apps. Please contact us on hello@thepip.com to discuss.

We have a software development kit available to researchers on a discretionary basis. Please contact hello@thepip.com for more information.

There are ongoing research studies using the Pip in institutions across the world and we are always interested in hearing from more researchers. The Pip has been shown to reduce heart rate and perceived stress compared to control games in the healthy adult population. The Pip has also been combined with other biosensing devices to create novel technologies to improve mental well-being2,3.

In addition, there are a wide range of currently ongoing studies investigating the Pip as a device to reduce stress in college students, in children with behavioural problems, in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease and as a complementary tool to aid other stress management interventions in the healthy adult population.

Dillon A, Kelly M, Robertson IH, Robertson DA, Smartphone applications utilizing biofeedback can aid stress reduction. Frontiers of Psychology (Under Review).
Matthews, M., Snyder, J., Reynolds, L., Chien, J., Shih, A., Lee, J. & Gay, G. Real-Time Representation Versus Response Elicitation in Biosensor Data. Proceedings of ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). 2015. ACM.
Snyder, J., Matthews, M., Chien, J., Chang, P., Sun, E., Abdullah, S. & Gay, G. 2015. MoodLight: Exploring Personal and Social Implications of Ambient Display of Biosensor Data. To appear in Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing (CSCW). 2015. ACM.