According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 47 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. This number will increase to 75 million by 2030.
Six in 10 people with dementia will wander at some point. A person may not remember his or her name or address and can become disoriented, wandering out into the world where they might get lost.
These wanderers need to be tracked down quickly
We already have bracelets and shoes on the market that can aid in quickly finding dementia patients if they wander. But these devices can be easily removed by simply pulling them off.
Recently, A U.S.-based technology company, Three Square Market (32M), announced its plan to put trackable implants into people with dementia. The body-heat-powered chip will have GPS tracking abilities to keep patients who have diseases such as dementia from getting lost.
The microchip can not only track the patients via GPS, it can also store their medical history. It will send distress signals to the nearest hospital and also monitor the person’s vital signs. This would be extremely useful in emergency situations in which the patient is not aware of his or her medical history.
Three Square Market plans to test the GPS tracking chip in early 2019 and seek approval for the chip from the FDA.
