It is a sad thing to say, but unfortunately, as many people start to grow old, they begin to have problems with their minds, and they often wander off. This would be fine, but the problem is that they often end up in a place where they don’t know anyone, and they become even more confused than they were to begin with. Many nursing homes and families with seniors have had these problems, and now, there is new technology that can help put an end to seniors and others with limited mental capacity getting lost.
GPS Shoes
New shoes have been created that incorporate GPS technology. This means that with every step the wearer takes, the shoes will be able to report where that person is. When a person wearing shoes with the GPS system wanders off, he or she can easily be found and returned home or to some other safe place. The shoes, which will retail at around $300 a pair, can actually have many other uses, and will probably be made available to many other groups of people, including children. Having shoes like this for children is just one more thing that parents can do to ensure their safety when they leave their homes for school or to play.
The Aphrodite Project
A report from MSNBC showed the Aphrodite Project. This is actually a project intended to protect prostitutes by giving them sandals with built-in GPS technology. The first shoe in this line came from studies of prostitutes in ancient Greece and Rome. These prostitutes would get clients by having flutes and sandals that left special footprints that allowed customers to follow them. This gave the creators of the shoes the idea to have a tracking system in the sandals worn by prostitutes. These women are some of the most vulnerable women in the world, and although they are doing something that is illegal in many countries, they still need protection, and this is a great way to give them the protection they need.
Tracking for Alzheimer’s Patients
As previously mentioned, there have been many cases of seniors wandering off and disappearing, sometimes for many days or even weeks. This tends to happen often with patients who have Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that causes limited memory and other mental issues. If a person with Alzheimer’s disease were to go for a walk while wearing the GPS shoes and became lost, he or she could easily be found. Without a tracking device, lost seniors could end up injured, or suffering from malnutrition and dehydration, depending on how far they have wandered. Sadly, there are around five million Americans who have Alzheimer’s disease, and this number is expected to continue to grow.
The GTX/Aetrex shoe will give caretakers of seniors the capability to be able to monitor the seniors even when they are not right there with them. They can set up a geofence, and if the senior wearing the shoes goes farther than this area, there will be an alert. The senior won’t feel like they are being watched, because they won’t even know that the device is in their shoes. This is technology that could help to save a lot of lives, and one that is certainly going to prove to be very popular once it hits the market.
