“Five million Americans are afflicted with Alzheimer’s, and this is estimated to grow to more than 20 million as the Boomer population ages,” stated Andrew Carle. Carle is director of the nation’s only program in senior-housing administration, at George Mason University, Fairfax County, Virginia, and is an advisor to GTX Worldwide, Los Angeles, California, a manufacturer of global position system (GPS) personal locators. “Up to 60 percent of these individuals will become lost at least once and nearly half may die if not located within 24 hours. The volume of lost persons also threatens to overwhelm police, fire, and rescue systems.” In a move to produce what Carle calls a “life-saving as well as a resource-critical technology,” GTX has agreed to team up with Aetrex Worldwide, Teaneck, New Jersey, to address this problem.
The two companies have entered into a platform test agreement to collaborate on embedding GTX’s GPS locators in Aetrex footwear meant to monitor the locations of wandering seniors afflicted with dementia. Development should begin immediately with actual product testing projected to commence by the fourth quarter of 2009.
“The shoe we intend on developing with Aetrex should help authorized family members, friends, or caretakers reduce their stress and anguish by enabling them to locate their loved ones instantly with the click of mouse from any desktop computer or mobile phone with Internet access,” said Chris Walsh, COO of GTX.
According to GTX Corp, it already holds two U.S. patents for GPS-embedded footwear and has seven additional GPS footwear patents pending.
“We’re excited to partner with GTX to develop a line of shoes incorporating their PLS systems,” said Aetrex President Evan Schwartz. “Working together, we are confident that we can create an innovative product that addresses the needs of a growing population and the families that are affected.”
