Email

GTX, a California-based company, has developed a shoe with GPS tracking built-in. There are many possibilities for the use of a shoe with GPS tracking equipped, but GTX has one market in mind: Alzheimer’s patients. The shoes were designed to monitor and quickly locate elderly citizens suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. These high-tech shoes will soon be available for purchase through Aetrex Worldwide, a company that specializes in pedorthic footwear, designed for optimal comfort.

“The GPS Shoe has the potential to be life saving as well as life changing technology for those afflicted and their caregivers,” said Andrew Carle, director of George Mason University’s Program in Senior Housing Administration and advisor to GTX Corp. “The shoes also hold the potential to save governments hundreds of millions of dollars in search and rescue operations, as well in health care costs for those otherwise injured.”

Alzheimer’s patients are prone to becoming confused and disoriented. This often leads to wondering off, which can be incredibly scary for the patient as well as family and friends. Because of the confused state, patients who’ve wondered off often become lost and cannot find their way back home. This is very dangerous, and even life threatening for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The elderly patients can become dehydrated or fall and seriously hurt themselves.

GTX’s shoe includes a built-in GPS receiver within the sole, which transmits to a smart phone app, monitored by the patient’s caretaker. The app allows users to establish a safe-zone with specified borders, called a geo-fence. If the patient is detected outside the safe-zone, an alert is sent to the caretaker’s app. The caretakers can then access the patient’s exact location using GPS tracking in real-time. It can be nearly impossible to prevent a loved-one suffering from Alzheimer’s from wondering off, but with the GPS shoe, returning him or her safely is easier than ever.

Article Written by Marisa O’Connor