HelperElfMissy 42 Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 GPS tracking shoes are being designed to keep tabs on wandering Alzheimers patients.... Quote: The shoes are being developed by GTX Corp, which makes miniaturised Global Positioning Satellite tracking and location-transmitting technology, and Aetrex Worldwide, a footwear manufacturer. Mr Carle says embedding a GPS device in a shoe was important because Alzheimer's victims tend to remove unfamiliar objects placed on them but getting dressed is one of the last types of memory they retain. He said a "geo-fence" could be placed around a person's home and a "Google Map" alert sent to a cell phone, home or office computer when a programmed boundary is crossed. Source Interesting stuff. Initially I thought - why shoes - they might wander in thier slippers/ or bare feet/ or another pair of shoes... maybe a secure anklet (like the home detention ones) instead. Are we not yet at a level that we could be doing implants? You can implant a pacemaker, or an insulin pump, why not a GPS tracking device for those who clinically require one for thier own safety (mind you I say this aware of the disasterous potential for parents tracking thier kids, wives tracking thier husbands and bosses tracking thier staff members. However I have to say I would be keen to purchase a GPS device that I could purchase and have my kids willingly wear when we are on the mountain - that way if they 'go missing' we will be able to locate them. What say you? A GPS tracking device a good thing or a bad thing? Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 A bit too much perhaps! Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Interesting use of it in that quote there Mamabear, don't think I'll be rushing out for them myself though. I like the look of those 5-fingered shoes that sanjo mentioned in another thread though. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Alzheimers sufferers need all the help they can get. Progressively they lose the newest to the oldest memory. So if they moved home 5 years ago, and when that part of the memory is lost, they'll remember the address of the home before that. A tracking device would be useful. Link to post Share on other sites
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