Tracking Dementia

Have you seen a sign on the highway announcing a Silver Alert? I have and I've had to explain the difference between silver and amber to my grandkids. Silver alerts often involve elderly drivers that are lost and suffering from dementia. People with dementia like to travel whether in a car or on foot and this tendency which often results in the sufferer getting lost, can be hard on caregivers. Some folks with dementia become less verbal and cannot ask for help but there is a new GPS system for tracking them that (using satellites) can accurately pinpoint their location to within ten meters. The person wears a locator on a lanyard or necklace. Then a boundary is set and if the person crosses the boundary a message is automatically sent to the caregiver’s cell phone. 70% of people with dementia that wander away on foot are found within a mile of their starting point. The center where the Mind Me people man the computers that pinpoint where the Mind Me users are and map where they've been are invaluable. The Mind Me system using GPS tracking is a really interesting use of technology that has given back some freedom to people suffering from dementia and has freed many of their caregivers from constant worry.