FRIENDS GUI: A Graphical User Interface for Data Collection and Visualization of Vaping Behavior from a Passive...

Area of Science:

• * Public Health and Biomedical Engineering: Focuses on understanding user behavior with Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS).

Background:

• * Accurate measurement of puffing topography (PT) is essential for assessing ENDS use and potential health risks.
• * Existing methods for collecting PT data can be complex and lack user-friendly interfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To introduce FRIENDS (Flexible Robust Instrumentation of ENDS), an open-source device and its accompanying graphical user interface (GUI).
• * To enhance the accessibility and interpretability of puffing data collected from ENDS devices.

Main Methods:

• * Development of FRIENDS, an attachable device for ENDS that records puffing and touching events.
• * Creation of a Python-based open-source GUI to extract, decode, and visualize 24-hour PT data.
• * Validation of the GUI using experimental 24-hour data for accuracy in timestamp conversion and event decoding.

Main Results:

• * The FRIENDS GUI successfully extracts, decodes, and visualizes 24-hour puffing data.
• * Validation confirmed accurate timestamp conversion, reliable event decoding, and effective visualization of user puffing behavior.
• * The software provides a user-friendly platform for analyzing ENDS usage patterns.

Conclusions:

• * The FRIENDS GUI significantly improves the accessibility and interpretability of PT data.
• * This open-source tool facilitates research into ENDS use, toxicant exposure, and regulatory science.
• * Freely available on GitHub, FRIENDS promotes wider adoption and collaboration in the field.