FRIENDS GUI: A graphical user interface for data collection and visualization of vaping behavior from a passive vaping monitor

TL;DR

This paper presents FRIENDS GUI, an open-source Python tool that enhances data collection, decoding, and visualization of vaping behavior from a novel device, aiding research and regulation.

Contribution

It introduces a user-friendly GUI for the FRIENDS device, improving accessibility and interpretability of vaping behavior data for researchers.

Findings

Validated accurate timestamp conversion and event decoding.

Demonstrated effective visualization of 24-hour vaping data.

Software is freely available on GitHub for public use.

Abstract

Understanding puffing topography (PT), which includes puff duration, intra-puff interval, and puff count per session, is critical for evaluating Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) use, toxicant exposure, and informing regulatory decisions. We developed FRIENDS (Flexible Robust Instrumentation of ENDS), an open-source device that can be attached to ENDS and records puffing and touching events. This paper introduces the FRIENDS graphical user interface (GUI) that improves accessibility and interpretability of data collected by FRIENDS. The GUI is a Python-based opensource tool that extracts, decodes, and visualizes 24-hour puffing data from the FRIENDS device. Validation using 24-hour experimental data confirmed accurate timestamp conversion, reliable event decoding, and effective behavioral visualization. The software is freely available on GitHub for public use.