The shoes have a GPS system built into the heel to track the wearer's exact location at all times

One of the most common concerns for families of an Alzheimer’s sufferer is that they often find themselves lost after getting confused and disoriented.

But a U.S. company aims to solve the problem by selling the first shoes with a built-in tracking device.

The £200 shoes are fitted with a miniature GPS system - similar to those used in sat nav systems found in cars - that allows its wearer’s location to be accurately pinpointed.

The GPS system, which is implanted in the heel of what appears to be a normal walking shoe, allows family members or carers to constantly monitor the wearer.

They are even able to set up a designated 'safe' area and if the person strayed beyond those boundaries it would trigger an alert. Family members use an app downloaded to a smart phone or computer to find out the location of the missing person.

The American company marketing the shoe claim it is the first in the world to aid Alzheimer's victims.

Andrew Carle, a professor at George Mason University’s College of Health and Human Services in Washington DC, said the shoes will save lives and avoid embarrassing and costly incidents with the elderly.

'It’s especially important for people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s who are at the highest risk,' said Carle, who was an adviser on the project.

'They might be living in their home but they’re confused. They go for a walk and they can get lost for days.'

Carle said there were similar GPS tracking devices available, but these were often rejected by dementia sufferers. 'The primary reason is that paranoia is a manifestation of the disease,' Carle said.

The shoes are to go on sale in the U.S. later this month

'If you put something on someone with Alzheimer’s that they don’t recognize, they remove it. If it’s a wristwatch and it’s not their wristwatch, they will take it off. So you have to hide it.'

There are an estimated 500,000 people in the UK who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s while in the US there are more than five million.

The tracking device for shoes is a joint development between Los Angeles based GTX Corp,who make miniature tracking devices, and Aetrex shoes.

Patrick Bertagna, chief executive of GTX Corp, said the mini GPS system was initially being made for training shoes for long distance runners. But he said production was changed after tests showed the benefit to sufferers of the disease.

The first batch of 3,0000 shoes go on sale in the U.S. later this month and can be bought from the company’s website.

By Paul Thompson

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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