In 1961, American astronaut Alan Shepard became the second human being travelling into space. Onboard the spacecraft, some of his vital parameters, heart rate and rhythm, body temperature and respiration rate, were monitored. Not only was he able to communicate with ground control but also his biologic data were transmitted from space to earth enabling physicians to remotely check his health status. This rather curious example marked an early milestone in the effort of using modern communication technology for continuous surveillance of physiological parameters outside the hospital environment.
