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.
@article{arxiv.2511.15007,
title = {FRIENDS GUI: A graphical user interface for data collection and visualization of vaping behavior from a passive vaping monitor},
author = {Shehan Irteza Pranto and Brett Fassler and Md Rafi Islam and Ashley Schenkel and Larry W. Hawk and Edward Sazonov},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.15007},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
12 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, 3 algorithms. Published in Journal of Open Research Software 14: 24 (2026)