Carle is also reaching out to veterans groups, some of whose members suffered traumatic brain injuries, to autism groups and to law enforcement agencies. Police and sheriff’s departments are often called on to conduct extensive searches for missing seniors who are in danger of dying of exposure or dehydration.
“You’ve got 5 million people with Alzheimer’s in this country,” Carle said, “and that’s going to quadruple. You’re going to have municipalities who do nothing but search and rescue for local seniors all day.”
The International Association of Chiefs of Police launched an Alzheimer’s initiative for police departments several years ago because dementia patients are a serious concern for law enforcement. Amanda Burstein, director of the IACP initiative, said GPS-equipped devices such as the GTX shoe are “part of our options for law enforcement in our classroom training.”
Burstein emphasized, however, that the shoe didn’t solve the problem.
When such devices produce quick results, “there’s obviously a huge resource savings,” Burstein said. “But it’s limited to those who can afford it, take care of it and are monitoring it.”
Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid expressed similar reservations. She cited the cost — $299 per pair, plus $20 to $40 a month for a cellular service plan — and the need to charge the GPS device daily. “It’s not so easy as putting on a shoe and calling it a day,” Kincaid said.
In Project Lifesaver, the program Kincaid’s office uses now at minimal cost, deputies make regular visits to replace the batteries in the radio-tracking bracelet.
Carle said the GPS shoe or insole is a substantial improvement over the Project Lifesaver program because it doesn’t require a bracelet, which many dementia patients dislike, and it doesn’t require law enforcement involvement. It also uses GPS technology instead of radio frequency identification-based technology that requires a searcher to come within 400 yards of the subject.