Apparatus, systems and methods for monitoring and evaluating cardiopulmonary functioning

1. A system for monitoring the cardiopulmonary functioning of a person, the system comprising:

at least one remote terminal; and

a sensor module configured to be worn by the person, the sensor module comprising:

at least one physiological sensor configured to sense the following types of physiological information generated by the person: pulse rate, blood flow, and blood pressure;

at least one signal processor configured to process signals generated by the at least one physiological sensor; and

at least one transmitter responsive to the at least one signal processor that is configured to transmit at least one signal to the at least one remote terminal;

wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to focus processing resources on one of the types of physiological information in response to a specified preference by the person; and

wherein the at least one physiological sensor, the at least one signal processor, the at least one transmitter combined operate with less than 100 mW of total operating power.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to focus processing resources on the one of the types of physiological information at the expense of ignoring other types of physiological information.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the specified preference is made via the at least one remote terminal.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physiological sensor comprises a pulse oximeter.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module further comprises a blood pressure sensor comprising an actuator and a pressure transducer.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module further comprises a blood pressure sensor comprising a pulse rate sensor and a blood volume sensor.

7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a personal database and an anonymous database, wherein the personal database contains cardiopulmonary information for the person, and wherein the anonymous database contains cardiopulmonary information for multiple other persons, and wherein the anonymous database is publicly accessible through the Internet.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the at least one remote terminal comprises at least one signal processor configured to communicate with the personal and anonymous databases, to generate personalized cardiopulmonary statistics for the person from data in the personal database, and to generate cardiopulmonary statistics for multiple other persons from data in the anonymous database.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the at least one remote terminal comprises at least one signal processor configured to generate a comparison between cardiopulmonary functioning of the person and cardiopulmonary functioning of multiple other persons.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to process signals produced by the at least one physiological sensor into signals that can be heard and/or viewed by the person.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module is integrated within an earpiece that is adapted to be positioned within an ear of the person.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the earpiece is a hearing aid.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor module is integrated within an audio headset.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one remote terminal comprises at least one portable telecommunication device.

15. A system for monitoring the cardiopulmonary functioning of a person, the system comprising:

a portable telecommunication device; and

a sensor module configured to be worn by the person, the sensor module comprising:

at least one physiological sensor configured to sense the following types of physiological information generated by the person: pulse rate, blood flow, and blood pressure;

at least one signal processor configured to process signals generated by the at least one physiological sensor; and

at least one transmitter responsive to the at least one signal processor that is configured to transmit at least one signal to the portable telecommunication device;

wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to focus processing resources on one of the types of physiological information in response to a specified preference made by the person via the portable telecommunication device; and

wherein the at least one physiological sensor, the at least one signal processor, the at least one transmitter combined operate with less than 100 mW of total operating power.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to focus processing resources on the one of the types of physiological information at the expense of ignoring other types of physiological information.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the at least one physiological sensor comprises a pulse oximeter.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to process signals produced by the at least one physiological sensor into signals that can be heard and/or viewed by the person.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the sensor module is integrated within an earpiece that is adapted to be positioned within an ear of the person.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the earpiece is a hearing aid.