Technology is helping concerned relatives and carers keep track of Alzheimer’s patients. A new range of shoes are now available which have built-in GPS technology providing greater peace of mind for families dealing with the illness.
One of the biggest problems with other location devices is that they are often removed by the wearer as they appear “foreign”. Wrist band, ankle bands, and necklaces are the first things thrown away at the wrong time by wandering patients.
The shoes look and feel exactly like what the elderly would wear. Therefore, they are almost guaranteed to stay with the patient. They’ve been designed in conjunction with USA based senior care specialists to ensure they are reasonably appealing and practical to the wearer.
You can define a “geo-fence” allowing the wearer to move around a predefined safe-zone. Once they wander out of the defined area, an email alert is sent to the carer along with Google Map coordinates of the location. There’s even an app to track movements in real time.
Scheduled for release next month, the shoes will retail for around $299 plus a $35 monthly service fee.