Just think. What if your loved one was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and there were a way to help him stay safe and live longer?
Omnilink Systems, a provider of location-based services (LBS) technology, today held a seminar on how its technology can do just that at the M2M Evolution Conference hosted by TMC on February 1 & 2 in Miami, Florida, according to a company press release.
Chief Development Officer Steve Hudson spoke at the conference session on "Remote Patient Care: No Longer Out of Sight or Out of Mind," describing the capabilities of current remote Alzheimer's patient tracking technologies.
The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 5.4 million people have Alzheimer's disease, which costs $183 billion annually, according to the press release.
Alzheimer patients often can become confused and wander, and worse, “50 percent of people with Alzheimer's or dementia who wander will suffer serious injury or death if not found within 24 hours,” the press release states. Six out of 10 of all Alzheimer’s patients will, at some point, wander from their caretakers, according to Greg Bartlett, from statistics at the Alzheimer’s Association.
Patients who wander are also at risk of dehydration and hypothermia, according to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Online Community of Care.
But there are ways to prevent or mitigate this. Remote health care systems, or remote tracking, can stop wandering before it starts by constantly monitoring a patient's location, saving lives, time and money.
"It's critical that we educate people about the life-saving personal tracking solutions mobile brings to market," said Hudson in the press release. "Location-based services experts like Omnilink, and nationwide wireless networks have combined to produce advanced, end-to-end tools that can help protect individuals with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia."
Some manufacturers have even come out with a shoe with a GPS device that tracks wherever Alzheimer’s patients go. The new GPS-enabled walking shoe is put out by Los Angeles-based GTX Corporation and the footwear company Aetrex and the device is hidden in the heel. Want to learn more about M2M technologies? Then be sure to check out the M2M Evolution Conference, collocated with TMC’s ITEXPO East 2012, happening NOW in Miami, FL. The M2M Evolution Conference is for industry professionals interested in capitalizing on a rapidly growing segment of the telecom industry. The M2M Evolution Conference embraces the any-to-any strategy of the Internet today. Co-sponsored by TMC Partner Crossfire Media, it showcases the solutions, and examines the data strategies and technological requirements that enterprises and carriers need to capitalize on a market segment that is estimated to grow to $300 Billion in the year ahead. For more information on registering for the M2M Evolution Conference click here.
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Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
