It started as an idea to thwart kidnapping and has morphed into a product to prevent people with dementia from wandering away for good.

The GPS Shoe, expected to be available in the United States next week and Canada next year, is exactly as it sounds: footwear laced with a tracking device.

“It’s one of the only viable solutions for people with dementia. There’s really not a lot of other solutions out there for people who wander,” said Patrick Bertagna, founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based GTX Corp.

The technology provider, which specializes in Personal Location Services (PLS), partnered with shoe company Aetrex to create the new patented product.

They’ve already pre-sold 3,000 pairs for up to $300 a pop, and GTX has a four-year agreement to sell 156,000 more, Bertagna said. Interest has spread as far as Australia and New Zealand.

Bertagna hopes the shoe, which will only be available online, will move into Canada during the first half of 2012. He said he has a scheduled meeting with Rogers Communications Inc. next week to discuss.

The idea stems from Elizabeth Smart’s abduction nine years ago. The Utah teenager was kidnapped from her bedroom by Brian David Mitchell, later sentenced to life in prison, and held captive for nine months.

“It was just an epiphany — wouldn’t it be great if we could just put a miniature GPS tracking device inside of shoes,” said Bertagna.

The technology is hidden in the heel of the shoe, loafer or sneaker while caregivers monitor the location from the Internet or a smartphone. It alerts friends and relatives when a dementia or Alzheimer’s patient has gone beyond predetermined borders, and can also be used for children.

According to GTX, footwear works best for people with dementia because they will attempt to remove items (such as a bracelet or anklets) if unfamiliar with them. Batteries should be changed every other day, said Bertagna.

David Harvey, chief of public policy at the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, said the concept for the shoe is “excellent,” but said there’s not one solution for helping patients with the degenerative brain disorder.

He said measures such as keeping a safe home and having a game plan for when someone goes missing, such as calling 911 and creating a list of contacts, still need to be followed.

“We have to be careful there’s not an overreliance on these types of devices,” he said, noting they can be faulty or less conducive to Canadian weather.

It is estimated that up to 60 per cent of people with Alzheimer’s — the most common form of dementia — will become lost at least once. Nearly 95 per cent of those who wander are found within a quarter mile of their home or last known location.

Read the full article at The Toronto Star