Baby Boomers who become cognitively impaired are more likely to retain independence longer with assisted cognition technology    

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Alzheimer's disease costs American businesses $61 billion annually -- $36.5 billion of that total is attributed to the cost of lost productivity, absenteeism and worker replacement when employees become caregivers to family members afflicted with the disease, according to a 2006 Fact Sheet published by the Alzheimer's Association.

While there are currently an estimated 4.5 million Americans with the disease, by 2050, the number could grow to 16 million. GPS (Global Positioning System) technology has the potential to reduce the cost of caring for Alzheimer's sufferers, which will benefit aging Baby Boomers, and the workforce that will be impacted by family caregiving responsibilities.

For example, researchers are partnering with technology- and health- related companies to develop new wander management technologies designed to preserve patient independence and reduce stress associated with caregiving. One such project aims to improve upon the Safe Return program for Alzheimer's patients that was successfully implemented by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Alzheimer's Association in 1994. The project provides cognitively impaired individuals with an accessory, such as a pin or bracelet that uses GPSS mapping software and cell phone networks to alert caregivers via e-mail when a patient has wandered out of a pre-designated area.

Another project currently in research and development is the Activity Compass, a device designed to memorize a patient's daily routine, and offer advice and directions when it determines that he may be lost or confused. Over time, the device will learn a user's typical schedule, monitor the user's actions, sense location, direction of travel, velocity of movement and so on. If it detects variations in a routine, it will decide if a prompt to guide the user is necessary. The device will be designed to learn from interactions with the user and adapt to changing behavior as the disease progresses.