Asthma Heroes
Since the aliens arrived, everyone has asthma. Go on a mission and find out how to live well with asthma so the world can breathe freely again!
Breathing Games: making respiratory health fun
Since 2014, we research and cocreate games and controllers to make respiratory health fun and accessible. Our projects are free/libre and gratis: everyone can enrich them.
We are part of the WHO respiratory alliance (GARD) and the Open Source Initiative.
Test our games, available in up to 13 languages – and let us know below if you find bugs!
Games and hardware are research tools in development. Please seek professional advice (caregivers, engineers, lawyers, etc) before using or reproducing them.
Where do you want to start?
- I live with asthma, or I support someone who doesPlay Asthma Heroes or Asthmonautes, free, in up to 13 languages
- I am a caregiverGames, controllers and their research status, with the reminder to seek professional advice
- I do researchPublications, datasets and the participatory method
- I want to contributeTesting, design, code, electronics, translation
- I fund or partnerResults, value created (2.2 million CHF), governance, audited accounts
- I am a journalistActivities since 2014, media reports, contact
Asthmonautes
On these seven islands, three characters have asthma. Will you be able to gather the information and material needed to help them?
PEP Master
Play by doing the PEP respiratory exercices with the enhanced organic game controler!
Where we are
- 131 co-creation and research activities
- 45 games and controllers prototyped
- 1 million+ viewers reached
- 13 languages for the main games
Key milestones, 2014-2026
From a hospital pilot in Montréal to a commons working in many countries: the milestones of the initiative.
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2014
A pilot in hospital
Born in game design studies at the Université de Montréal. After a hackathon at the Sainte-Justine hospital, ten children with cystic fibrosis test the first games (E1).
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2015
Open hardware and a feasibility study
Collaboration with Sensorica, which brings open hardware and contribution accounting. Eight researchers of the HE-Arc start a pre-study (2015-2016) that moves the focus from cystic fibrosis to asthma (E4).
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2016
The first game jams
Three game jams in Geneva and Montréal give birth to the first asthma games. Breathing Games joins the Open Source Initiative and signs the United Nations Global Compact.
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2017
Funding and a maker residency
Funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the French Hospitals Federation. Three game jams; a residency in Milan produces a calibration syringe and a modular test bench for sensors.
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2018
Seven games and a method
Seven games are in development, among them Asthmonautes and TikiFlow. Two articles describe the participatory design process and the game jam as a research method (JMIR Serious Games, Forum Qualitative Social Research).
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2019
Peak year
Game jams at the Necker hospital in Paris, in Geneva and in Besançon; clinical tests in Montréal (E5, E6); a public test in Palermo; the Swiss television reaches 300,000 viewers.
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2020
Online during the pandemic
Events move online. Breathing Games hosts the GHF Open Village with the Geneva Health Forum and Open Geneva, and lists open hardware against covid on coronavirus-openkit.net.
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2021
Evidence and 13 languages
Two articles on the clinical tests in Montréal (E5, E6); Asthma Heroes and Asthmonautes are translated by volunteers; 15 respiratory health commons are presented at the WHO GARD meeting; the enhanced Spirotroller is certified open-source hardware (OSHWA CH000012).
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2022
The «taking care together» festival
The second Open Village becomes the «taking care together» festival at the Geneva Health Forum, with a synthesis in ten languages. Asthmonautes is rebuilt in Unity.
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2023
A new start in Montréal
Research and development restart in Montréal; a third clinical study with Asthma Heroes begins (E11). Fabio Balli defends the thesis «Healing Communities», which builds on Breathing Games.
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2024
PEP Master at home
A grant of 100,000 CAD from Inven_T and the Université de Montréal funds the study of PEP Master and the organic controller at home with children with cystic fibrosis (E8); the grant is managed directly by a researcher, not by the association.
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2025-2026
Results and next steps
The home study ends; its article is accepted and in review (October 2026). The team prepares funding to turn Asthma Heroes into a reference game for asthma.
Contact us
To participate – testing, building games, reproducing hardware, doing research –, write us!