R-TRAC is deploying qPCR-based biosensors and automated building operating systems across Defense Health Agency medical centers — safeguarding military personnel and the immunocompromised patients they serve.
Led by SafeTraces · ARPA-H BREATHE Program
Defense Health Agency medical centers serve active-duty military, their families, and veterans — including large populations of immunocompromised patients undergoing treatment whose vulnerability to airborne exposures is acute.
These facilities operate under continuous patient load, across diverse climates and building types. Most cannot detect what's circulating in their air — much less respond to it automatically.
R-TRAC is building the autonomous sensing, risk assessment, and building control infrastructure to change that across the DHA network.
The Defense Health Agency operates one of the largest healthcare networks in the United States — serving 9.5 million beneficiaries across hundreds of facilities.
Most buildings have no idea what biological organisms are circulating in their air. R-TRAC gives defense health facilities that awareness — and the ability to act on it automatically.
A microarray qPCR biosensor using a unique positional printing method to detect a broad spectrum of organisms. SafeTraces' platform — a spinout of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories — provides rapid, autonomous detection without manual intervention.
Software that activates specialized building operating modes when airborne risk escalates — automatically adjusting ventilation, filtration, and air treatment to protect occupants before exposures accumulate.
R-TRAC integrates technology from eight organizations — including Siemens for building systems, Ginkgo Bioworks for biosensing, and Stanford and Penn State for scientific validation.
Video coming soon
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda — the flagship military medical center serving senior military leadership and their families.
Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio — the largest military hospital in the United States.
Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord — serving the Pacific Northwest military community.
CEO, SafeTraces. SafeTraces is a dual-use technology company focused on predicting, detecting, and preventing biological threats through autonomous environmental biosecurity. A spinout of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.
Read the SafeTraces announcement ↗Official SafeTraces announcement of the R-TRAC award
An in-depth look at SafeTraces' biosecurity technology and its applications
Official ARPA-H program overview for the R-TRAC team
R-TRAC is building autonomous air biosecurity for defense health facilities. If your organization works within the Defense Health Agency system or federal healthcare, we'd like to connect.
defense@breathe2026.org