GPS Shoes Could Help Track Alzheimer's Patients

Caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Next month, shoes fitted with GPS tracking systems will hit store shelves in the U.S., reports Agence France Presse. The shoes have the potential to help the 5.4 million people in the United States with Alzheimer's.

Priced at $300 and created by GTX, the shoes' heels hold a global positioning system (GPS) to track a wandering patient with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, notes USA Today.

The shoes were first announced back in 2009.

Project adviser Andrew Carle of George Mason University's College of Health and Human Services, first suggested GTX create a GPS shoes for tracking Alzheimer's patients. He told AFP that 60 percent of those who suffer from the disease wander, and about half of them who aren't found in 24 hours may risk death because of dehydration or injury.

The New York Times explains the shoes require a $30 to $40 dollar subscription monitoring service, but they'll certainly give caregivers peace of mind as the GPS transmitters will work anywhere a cell phone receives a signal.

While there are some products, like wristbands, on the market to track people with dementia and Alzheimer's, there's no guaranteeing people will keep these devices on, says Carle on PhysOrg.com.

With the Alzheimer's Association reporting that the disease could affect 11 to 16 million people by 2050, the GPS shoe could signify a supply and demand for products that cater to the world's growing aging population, particularly those with memory loss.

Check out a video of the GPS shoe below.

Comments

[Stwart Jenssen]

11:15 AM on 10/31/2011

I think this is an excellent use of gps tracking technology. In my opinion, this should only be used by those that NEED it or those who consent to being tracked for professional purposes.

Stwart Jenssen
Findrxonline.com/blog

[SeeTheFnords]

09:57 PM on 10/30/2011

Alzheimer's patients are not the only ones who could benefit from these shoes. I'm thinking in particular of that gentleman who wandered off partway through a charity bicycle ride a month or so ago (sorry, can't remember details too well). Anyone who is at risk for becoming confused or disoriented should have access to something like these shoes - a small monthly cost is more fiscally responsible than a days-long manhunt or resultant medical treatments for exposure, accidents, etc.

[Peg Lattinville]

01:14 PM on 10/30/2011

IF the family can afford to buy them.Not a DME medicare would pay for.

[JHKH]

04:37 PM on 10/29/2011

Better than nothing, but if a dementia patient wanders off in the middle of the night, what's to say they'll put on the correct (GPS) shoe, or that they'll put on shoes at all? Or, for that matter keep the shoe on once they've wandered off? If the wristband notion was dismissed for the possibility that the patient would remove it, it seems the same potential flaw exists with shoes.

[ppy]

06:21 PM on 10/28/2011

This is the direct link to the demo video:

http://news.discovery.com/videos/tech-gps-shoe-hotfoots-your-location.html

*imho*

[unique]

06:09 PM on 10/28/2011

My mother had Alzheimers. She lived in a Senior Residence. She wandered off one
day and was found by a staff member on her way to work about a mile from the
Residence. I was so worried about her I was hoping some crazy didn't kidnap and kill her.
I wish they had GPS shoes 12 years ago. With GPS shoes hopefully she would not have
gotten off the grounds of the Residence.

[ppy]

04:54 PM on 10/28/2011

Check out the real life demonstration video:
http://news.discovery.com/tech/gps-shoes-track-kids-alzheimers-prostitutes-111028.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

*imho*

[unique]

06:14 PM on 10/28/2011

Thanks, I just went to the web site above. This is great
I hope these shoes are Made in America and if so
continue to be Made in America.

[Ricardo01]

01:23 PM on 10/28/2011

What if they remove their shoes, or forget to wear them?

[NHBill]

07:18 PM on 10/27/2011

If you need to keep track of someone with trick shoes you probably need to find a way to keep them from wandering off in the first place.

[k535panther]

07:40 PM on 10/27/2011

absolutely...

[stacknef]

11:45 AM on 10/28/2011

not as easy as you may think......especially when the illness is just beginning and the patient is fine one moment and then is totally confused minutes later.

short of locking them in the house, GPS is a great idea.

[NHBill]

03:32 PM on 10/28/2011

Well yes.
Most well run caring facilites have self closing doors that lock.
If someone cannot be trusted to find their way home you have to protect them with good locks and supervise their travels.
It's best to wrok that ou with them while they can reason it out with you.
So the sooner the better.

[rann948]

05:48 PM on 10/27/2011

While there are some products, like wristbands, on the market to track people with dementia and Alzheimer's, there's no guaranteeing people will keep these devices on, says Carle on PhysOrg.com.

I might point out that there are no guarantees that alzheimers patients will put their shoes on OR leave them on. An expensive gimmick preying on the fears of care-givers. Best solution would be an implantable device.

[k535panther]

07:40 PM on 10/27/2011

That would be the beginning of the end... No implantable anything.....are you mad??? This is a very quiet way to open the door to some bigger issues

[ppy]

05:41 PM on 10/27/2011

This article forgets to include the best part where you can set up this geofencing virtual type of boundary that alerts the caretakers once the patients leave the pre-set zone.

It is a great idea and it took so long to finally make it work but the price hopefully will drop once it becomes more popular.

Good for young children too.

*imho*

[IndieObama]

06:42 PM on 10/28/2011

And good for teenagers with smartphones and you don't have to spend $300.

I had my daughter install "Where's My Droid" on her Android phone because she seems to continually misplace it or leave it in one of her friend's car. As long as the phone is on you can text message or e-mail a message to the phone number and it will un-mute the phone and start sending off a pre-determined ring or tone giving you a chance to hunt it down if it's within earshot.

The GPS feature (Send text message: "GPS my droid") requires you to have the feature enabled on the missing phone, but will send back a message with the exact coordinates and map link. Used it last night to figure out where my daughter was a 11:30pm on a school night. (At a friend's house working on a school project.)
Cool app as long as the phone you're searching for isn't turned off.