GPS-enabled shoes will give Alzheimer's caregivers peace of mind -- GCN

Click here to receive GCN magazine for FREE!

GPS-enabled shoes will give Alzheimer's caregivers peace of mind

By GCN Staff
Nov 14, 2011

Shoes with Global Positioning System technology could help track down people with dementia when they wander off, Agence France-Presse reports.

GTX Corp. teamed with the footwear company Aetrex Worldwide to develop the shoes, which will have a GPS device in their heels. Caregivers or family members will be able to use the shoes to create what the AFP story calls a "geofence" for seniors suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other cognitive problems. The GPS system sends out an alert if the person wearing the shoes ventures beyond a designated area.

The Federal Communications Commission certified the system for the shoes earlier this year.

The retail price of the shoes, which will be available this month, is $300.

About the Author

Connect with the GCN staff on Twitter @GCNtech.

E-Mail this page

Printable Format

Interactive bike map helps county get citizen feedback06/19/2017
Automation error sends tremors through California06/23/2017
NOAA seeks situational awareness to protect weather satellites06/14/2017
Tracking elevation changes in the Arctic02/21/2017
San Diego puts internet, GPS in choppers04/28/2017
8 steps to smarter government GIS03/07/2016
Esri adds science, tech modules to ArcGIS platform11/07/2014
Tiny chip provides precise GPS navigation without the GPS04/19/2013

inside gcn

DHS unwraps free virtual training for active shooter incidents

Reader Comments

Wed, Nov 16, 2011 Steve

I work search and rescue. These might work sometimes, but I had a mission in the winter when the patient wondered off without shoes (and was found deceased.) Also the shoes might induce complacency in the caregivers, so that they are not as concerned or aware of the patient's whereabouts.