GPS device to track Alzheimer’s patients Standing on the roof of Kuakini Medical Center, representatives of the Alzheimer's Association-Aloha Chapter were stunned when their location was pinpointed within seconds from a California center.
A scary zoo incident led to the
Report: 60% will wander
development of a $400 wristband
to locate loved onesBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comThey were testing a wrist-worn device known as a GPS Personal Locator that will help caregivers find wandering Alzheimer's disease patients.
With the Global Positioning System and satellite links, a missing Alzheimer's patient wearing the bracelet can be located in less than 60 seconds within a foot of where they are. The location center is in California.
"It's a clunky, '60s kind of watch bracelet," said Janet Bender, executive director of the Alzheimer Association-Aloha Chapter.
Bender was atop Kuakini with Dr. Patricia Lanoie Blanchette, chapter president, and Joyce Herminau, secretary of the chapter's board of directors, for a demonstration.
"It was very exciting," Bender said. "You think about the implications of finding somebody like Mr. (Masayuki) Kubo, to know where he is."
Kubo, an 80-year-old Alzheimer's patient, has been missing since June 23. Though there have been several reported sightings of Kubo, massive searches have been unsuccessful.
"I'm still keeping up my hopes," Bender said. "Maybe someone is taking care of him."
Kubo is one of eight Alzheimer's patients who left home and have not been found in the past two years, according to the association. A total of 131 patients were reported missing in that period. Three were found dead.
Hawaii has an estimated 20,000 Alzheimer's patients.
The GPS bracelet was the idea of Timothy Neher, who two years ago founded Wherify Wireless Inc. in San Francisco after an experience with his nephews at Honolulu Zoo. The children wandered off, and Neher had a panicky feeling before they were found, wondering what he would do if he could not locate them.
Hawaii was selected for the first field tests of the Global GPS Personal Locator, which will be marketed by the end of the year.
Blanchette said the light-weight bracelet is "a logical addition to the ID bracelets and other products we currently offer Alzheimer's patients as part of our Safe Return Program.
"We are excited about the positive impact this product could bring to the lives of thousands of Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers in Hawaii and potentially millions across the country," she said.
Herminau, an education specialist in the University of Hawaii John A. Burns Medical School's Geriatrics Department, spearheaded the search for some device to help Alzheimer's patients.
She said she was the caregiver for her mother, who twice had to be found after wandering.
Herminau said the GPS bracelet has a satellite chip and bounces off of five satellites. "I can't see any downside to it."
The cost is expected to be about $300 to $400 per bracelet, she said, "but I don't see that as being prohibitive, if this works."
She said the Alzheimer's Association will look for federal and state funding for families that cannot afford the GPS bracelet.
Meanwhile, a shipment of watches is expected for further field tests in diverse settings.
Conducting them will be Herminau, Drs. Bret Flynn and John Buzanoski of the Aloha Chapter's Scientific Medical Research Committee and members of the Honolulu Police Department's Missing Persons Division. The doctors are faculty members in the medical school's geriatrics department.
Flynn said tests will be done looking at people with dementia, some children and others wearing the device for an extended period.
If a caregiver feels a person is lost, the location base in California can be contacted on a toll-free number or Internet address to track the person.
The watch also has a panic button for children, Flynn said.
A child in a threatening or uncomfortable situation can push the button, and it automatically will start location tracking.
The Alzheimer's Association also is working with local authorities to provide assistance if needed when a person is located, he said.
The waterproof bracelet will be tested on the other islands by people in boats and hiking in the mountains and doing other things to make sure it works in all situations, Flynn said. "With people wandering, you never know what situations they get into."
Other uses also are being explored for the device, he said, suggesting they could possibly be rented to hikers to find them if they get lost. Perhaps it could also be used on pets who wander off, he said.
Among other benefits, the ability to track Alzheimer's patients would give them more independence and freedom.
But the device also allows a caregiver to program the watch so a person with dementia does not stray beyond a certain distance from the house or yard, Flynn said.
"You can program the watch through the satellite, and if they cross the boundary, it will automatically start the tracking device."
Sixty percent of people with Alzheimer's disease eventually will wander, and 46 percent will die if not located within 24 hours, a new report points out. Report says 60% of
patients will wander
off at some pointBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comWandering occurs when patients become agitated or angry with caregivers or are in unfamiliar situations and their caregivers are distracted, according to the report.
It was written by Meredith A. Rowe, associate professor in the University of Florida College of Nursing and Institute on Aging, based on an analysis of 1997-1998 data from the Alzheimer's Association's Safe Return Program.
Identification bracelets are provided in that program to help locate wandering patients.
Janet Bender, Alzheimer's Association-Aloha Chapter executive director, said the report is significant because little is known about Alzheimer's wandering.
It will help caregivers develop strategies to prevent wandering and assist police and others looking for missing Alzheimer's patients, she said. Rowe said people registered with Safe Return increase their chances of returning home safely, regardless of their living situations.
Patients living with family caregivers are at greater risk of wandering than those with spousal caregivers because they are more likely to be left alone while caregivers tend to other family and job responsibilities, she said.
The American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias will publish the report.