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BREATHFIT
Exhaled breath analysis to determine physical and mental readiness of soldiers
BREATHFIT is a portable breath-analysis system that helps monitor soldiers’ physical and mental readiness. Developed with VITO and the Royal Higher Institute for Defence, Voxdale engineered the field-ready prototype, turning lab-based breath sampling into a practical, non-invasive tool for Defence and beyond.
The Challenge
Monitoring physical and mental readiness in Defence environments remains a challenge. Collecting biological samples such as blood or saliva is costly, invasive, and requires medical expertise, making frequent, real-time assessment impractical.
During intensive military training, recruits face a sudden rise in physical demands and reduced recovery opportunities. This can lead to fatigue, overtraining, and an increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Yet, medical teams today rely mainly on observation and self-reporting, with no tools to gain fast, objective oversight of a platoon’s well-being.
BREATHFIT set out to change that, by turning something as simple as a breath into meaningful health data.
Our Approach
Under the Belgian DEFRA (Defence-related Research Action) program, VITO, Voxdale, and the Royal Higher Institute for Defence joined forces to build a portable, non-invasive solution for continuous health monitoring in the field.
Voxdale’s mission was to translate laboratory breath-sampling concepts into a robust, field-ready prototype. This meant engineering a system that ensures airtightness, VOC stability, and repeatable sampling, all while being intuitive to use during training and deployment.
Our contribution included:
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Mechanical design & system integration of the sampler unit
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Leak-proof canister design and iterative VOC stability testing
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Prototyping & field validation in parallel with existing reference samplers (BioVOC-2)
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Design for manufacturability (DfM) to prepare for broader deployment
Collaboration between engineers, scientists, and Defence professionals allowed rapid feedback loops between lab insights and real-world testing.
The Solution
BREATHFIT is a portable breath-analysis system that standardises sampling, analyses exhaled air, and identifies early signals of reduced readiness using a classifier algorithm.
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Easy-to-use sampler design to capture reliable, repeatable sampling.
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VOC stability optimisation ensures accurate measurements during 2-hour field campaigns.
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Parallel validation with BioVOC-2 reference samplers provides benchmark data on the concentrations of key compounds, such as acetone and isoprene.
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Machine-learning analysis combines breath data with heart rate and psychological questionnaires to uncover patterns linked to fatigue, vigour, and total mood disturbance.
The modular setup allows future adaptation for other health applications, from overtraining detection to broader biomarker-based health monitoring.
The Impact
The latest field studies at the Royal Military Institute for Physical Education and Sport and the Military Hospital Queen Astrid demonstrate promising results. Breath samples captured after VO₂max tests reveal clear temporal shifts in metabolic signatures, with increased VOC signals immediately and one hour after exertion, followed by recovery.
Early analyses show correlations between breath-based principal components and self-reported fatigue and performance decline, confirming that exhaled breath reflects physiological load and recovery trends.
For Defence, BREATHFIT provides:
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Rapid, non-invasive screening to identify individuals at risk of overtraining or injury
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Objective insights to support medical teams and optimise training programs
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A pathway toward scalable, remote health monitoring solutions
Beyond Defence, the modular technology opens spill-over opportunities in sports performance, occupational health, and preventive healthcare.
Partners
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VITO: Scientific lead - breath analysis, VOC detection, data modeling
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Military Hospital Queen Astrid (MHQA): Clinical validation and field study coordination
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Voxdale: Product design, prototyping, mechanical engineering, DfM, and valorisation strategy
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