BREATHE Program · Defense & Healthcare

Protecting U.S. warfighters and military families to enhance health and readiness.

R-TRAC (Respiratory Threat Real-time Assessment & Control) is deploying the first autonomous end-to-end biosecurity platform leveraging scientific gold-standard qPCR technology across military treatment facilities, safeguarding military personnel and the immunocompromised patients they serve.

Led by SafeTraces · ARPA-H BREATHE Program

The Challenge

9.5 million warfighters and their families rely on the Defense Health Agency globally. Healthy indoor air is mission-critical.

700+
military hospitals, ambulatory care and dental clinics
$40B
annual budget for the Defense Health Program
Top 5
Respiratory infections are a leading cause of disease and non-battle injuries (DNBI)

Sources: Defense Health Agency, About MHS (health.mil); DoD Defense Health Program Budget FY2026; U.S. Army Medical Command, DNBI surveillance data.

Military treatment facilities serve active-duty military, their families, and veterans, including large populations of immunocompromised patients whose vulnerability to airborne exposures is acute.

These facilities operate under continuous patient load, across diverse climates and building types globally. Like other hospitals and buildings, they cannot detect what's circulating in their air, much less respond to it rapidly and automatically.

R-TRAC is building the first autonomous end-to-end platform for real-time biosensing, risk assessment, and disease prevention to change that across the DHA network.

The Approach

End-to-end biosensing, assessment, and disease prevention - fully autonomous.

Autonomous high-multiplex biosensor

A microarray of qPCR (the gold standard for molecular detection) biosensor using a unique positional printing method to detect a broad spectrum of organisms autonomously with the highest level of sensitivity and specificity.

Risk-triggered building operating modes

Software activates specialized building operating modes when airborne risk escalates, automatically adjusting ventilation, filtration, and air treatment to protect occupants before exposures occur.

Multi-partner, multi-modal platform

SafeTraces datafusion platform integrates biosensor data with wastewater surveillance, epidemiological risk modeling, traffic, occupancy, and energy data within buildings to prevent infection and disease.

From SafeTraces

R-TRAC in action

Deployment

Active across major Defense Health Agency military treatment facilities

Maryland

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda is the world's largest joint military medical center with over 2.4 million sqft. of clinical space and 1 million patient events annually.

Texas

Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio is the largest military hospital in the United States and the Department of War's only Level 1 trauma center and burn unit, with 1.5 million sqft. of clinical space and over 1 million patient events annually.

Washington

Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, serving the Pacific Northwest military community with 1.2 million sqft. of clinical space and over 1 million patient events annually.

Partners

World-class scientific, industry, and technology leadership.

SafeTraces Siemens Perimeter Gate Scientific Stanford University Penn State University Uniformed Services University (USU) Metis Foundation
Team

Led by SafeTraces

Erik Malmstrom

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 ↗
In the News

Coverage of R-TRAC

PR Newswire

SafeTraces Selected as Prime Performer for ARPA-H BREATHE Program

Official SafeTraces announcement of the R-TRAC award

IWBI / Well Certified

Congressional Briefing Reframes Buildings as Critical Infrastructure for America's Biosecurity Strategy

Coverage of the congressional briefing on biosecurity and indoor air quality featuring R-TRAC

ARPA-H

ARPA-H R-TRAC Award Page

Official ARPA-H program overview for the R-TRAC team

Interested in partnership?

R-TRAC is building autonomous end-to-end biosecurity. Interested in learning more?

info@safetraces.com