New GPS Tracking Device Helps Elderly Live More
Freely While Protected from Wandering
i-TAG along GPS uses global positioning satellites,
features geofencing to establish electronic barrier
Nov. 11, 2009 – A major problem in the care of many
elderly people, especially those with Alzheimer’s Disease, is to protect
them from wandering. Many, for example, are lost every year who wander
from their residence and forget the way back. New technology, however,
is offering a promising solution – the i-TAG along GPS.
The small GPS tracking device can be used for many
safety objectives like the tracking of children or teenagers, but the
main objective - where there can be the largest impact - is the
protection of our senior citizens with some form of dementia or
Alzheimer's, according to Jenaro T. Centeno, Principal, i-TAG - Identity
Solutions in St. Louis.
“Our GPS tracking device operates through global
positioning satellites and has additional features such as live
monitoring from any internet-enabled computer, geofencing to establish a
perimeter, text and email alerts and an SOS call function,” Centeno
says.
Approximately the size of a nine-volt battery, the
GPS tracking device operates with a battery that lasts a week on average
and is rechargeable, according to the company Website.
“I -T-A may be diminutive but it is the most
intelligent, affordable personal GPS location product on the market,”
says Centeno.
“It is tied to a very instinctive, easy-to-use web
portal for device location. In addition, the device is so small, it can
be placed on your children, pets, cars, bikes, or anything else you can
imagine that needs to be located at a moment's notice.
Geofencing is one of the most touted features of
the device. The i-tag-along GPS can be programmed with a geofence – an
area in which the person wearing it can travel, but if they leave that
area, an alert will be sent via text, email or voice.
“Programming the geofence is easily done on our web
portal,” says Centeno.
“So now if your loved one leaves the geofence, you
will automatically receive an email, text message, or voice message on
your designated phone line.
“An added advantage of our device is the ability to
program one of the industry's first polygonal geofences. Polygonal
geofences give you the ability to create multi-sided pathways to allow
for non-circular paths like tracking your daughter’s path to and from
school or tracking a patient with dementia and their typical path to a
social event. Now this patient can still feel like they have some
independence and you feel secure knowing that if they wander, you can
find them.”
For institutions like Assisted Living Facilities,
the geofence feature creates a safety net that allows you the option of
offering a better quality of life with more independence while at the
same time protecting your patients and providing peace of mind to both
administrator and caregivers.
You can also log on at any time to check on the
whereabouts of your loved one or you can view a report of their
activities throughout the day, he adds.
In addition, the i-tag-along GPS is equipped with
an SOS button, he says. “If your loved one becomes disoriented, Aall
they would need to do is press the button which will send a message to
your phone or email letting you know where they are and that they need
help.
Nov. 11, 2009 – A major problem in the care of many
elderly people, especially those with Alzheimer’s Disease, is to protect
them from wandering. Many, for example, are lost every year who wander
from their residence and forget the way back. New technology, however,
is offering a promising solution – the i-TAG along GPS.
Geofencing is one of the most touted features of
the device. The i-tag-along GPS can be programmed with a geofence – an
area in which the person wearing it can travel, but if they leave that
area, an alert will be sent via text, email or voice.