Patent ID: 7248933

Claim:
A system for tracking an activity in a healthcare environment, including: a master station having a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a transceiver coupled to the processor; a plurality of badges adapted for coupling to objects, each badge having a unique ID and including a transmitter for transmitting the badge ID; and a plurality of sensors disposed throughout the environment, each sensor having a unique ID that relates the sensor to a location within the environment, and including a transceiver for receiving badge IDs from badges located near the sensor and transmitting the badge IDs and the sensor ID to the master station transceiver, the master station processor determining the location of an object from the received badge ID and sensor ID by identifying the badge associated with the object, relating the sensor ID to the location of the sensor, and storing object location information in the memory; each of the badges further including a displacement sensor that generates signals indicating movement of the object coupled to the badge and a direction of the movement, the badge transceivers transmitting the signals for receipt by the sensor transceivers, the sensor transceivers forwarding displacement information representing the signals to the master station, the master station processor using the displacement information to update the stored object location information.