US Patent 6858006 Cardiopulmonary monitoring

According to the invention, a system for monitoring health information of a plurality of patients is disclosed. Included in the system are a data gathering device, a node, a wide area network, and a monitoring center. The data gathering device includes a respiration sensor, a wireless transmitter, and a self-contained power source. The node is wirelessly coupled to the data gathering device and the wide area network is coupled to the node. Located remote to the node, the monitoring center is coupled to the wide area network.