Company to Develop GPS Shoes for Alzheimer's Patients
The AFP reports that a company named GTX Corp. is developing shoes that contain a GPS device for Alzheimer's patients. Alzheimer's patients in later stages can wander off and can get lost easily. The shoes would allow anyone wearing them to be tracked to within 30 feet anywhere on Earth.
"The technology will provide the location of the individual wearing the shoes within 30 feet, anywhere on the planet," said Andrew Carle, an assistant professor at George Mason University who served as an advisor on the project.
"Sixty percent of individuals afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease will be involved in a 'critical wandering incident' at least once during the progression of the disease -- many more than once," he said Friday.
The shoes are being developed by GTX Corp., which makes miniaturized Global Positioning Satellite tracking and location-transmitting technology, and Aetrex Worldwide, a footwear manufacturer.
GTX Corp. believes shoes work best for Alzheimer's patients because an Alzheimer patient might lose a device they are meant to carry and because "getting dressed is one of the last types of memory they retain." The device could also send a message when the Alzheimer patient crossed a virtual boundary. The company plans to begin working on the shoes in the 4th quarter of this year.
A press release about the shoe plans can be found here (PDF).
