Patent ID: 8773269

Claim:
A communicator for autonomous monitoring, detecting and tracking of movement and orientation of a body or portion of a body, comprising: a device configured to monitor at least one of translational and rotational movement of the body; an altimeter configured to measure changes in height, wherein the altimeter comprises a high sensitivity pressure sensor; and a processor configured to specifically determine if an individual has experienced a hard fall event, has experienced a soft fall event, is exhibiting a susceptibility to a fall, or has experienced a near fall event based at least one of the monitored translational movement of the body, monitored rotational movement of the body, and measured changes in height of the body, wherein an alert condition is determined based on the translational and rotational movement of the body and changes in height of the body or portion of the body; wherein the altimeter comprises a temperature-compensated, calibrated pressure sensor having a clamped output.