Mobile Tracking Receiver Helps Locate Alzheimer Wanderers

A tracking system for wandering Alzheimer's patients begun by the sheriff of Chesapeake, Va. has now been implemented by more than 100 law enforcement departments nationwide.

The law enforcement agencies are using a search tool that saves lives, time, money and manpower called the Mobile Tracking Receiver that electronically tracks lost persons who are wearing a wrist transmitter.

Each year approximately 32,000 Alzheimer's victims wander off and some eventually are found dead. Without an Alzheimer cure, the number of wanderers will increase as the population ages.

The Mobile Tracking Receiver system boasts a 100 percent success rate with no deaths or serious injuries in 803 searches over the last four year, a spokesperson said. Recovery times averaged under 30 minutes and manpower was reduced by 90 percent or more. Everyone reported missing was located. Cost of the device for families ranges from $25 per month to free, depending on financial need.

Alzheimer's patients who are at risk of wandering away wear a tiny water- and tamper-resistant wrist or ankle band that emits a silent radio signal. Should the wearer become lost, specially trained police use a hand-held directional antenna to locate the radio signal that gets stronger as searchers get closer. The device has a tracking range of one mile on the ground and five miles from a helicopter.

Chief Gene Saunders, of the Chesapeake Search and Rescue Team, said the system has saved lives and greatly reduced the cost of searches. "It has put our officers into the living rooms of the neighborhood, fostering important and sustained community relationships," he said.

Other sources: Project Lifesaver, Care Trak International, Inc.