- GPS
SmartSole® selected by George Mason University for groundbreaking study to
link movement patterns of dementia patients with progression of disease
- GTX
Corp’s flagship GPS SmartSole® and tracking technology were developed
specifically to track people with cognitive disorders at risk of wandering
- More
than 60 percent of people with dementia will wander, creating a stressful
and potentially dangerous situation; Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading
cause of death in the U.S.
- Alzheimer’s
Disease and other forms of dementia afflict about 5.7 million Americans,
with nearly 80 percent of those patients being cared for at home by a
family member
GTX Corp (OTC: GTXO), a pioneer in the field of wearable GPS
human and asset tracking systems and wandering assistive technology, has
partnered with George Mason University’s College of Health and Human Services
(“Mason”) in an important study using the company’s flagship GPS SmartSole® and
tracking technology platform (http://ibn.fm/WwJev).
The patented GPS SmartSole® is a non-visible GPS tracking device designed
to monitor the location of people afflicted with cognitive memory disorders,
such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism and traumatic brain injury (TBI), who
have a tendency to get lost or wander.
The study, funded through a grant from the Alzheimer’s &
Related Disease Research Award Fund, aims to track the progression of Alzheimer’s
dementia (“AD”) in patients as it relates to their movement patterns, the news
release states. Specifically, the study explores the possibility of using
machine learning methods and artificial intelligence applied to data from GPS
trackers to create models that can predict patterns of movement. GTX Corp will
provide its SmartSole® products and replace them as needed over a period of two
to three years, in addition to sharing access to its GPS data and scientific
expertise in the technology, Patrick Bertagna, GTX Corp CEO, said.
“This is so remarkable and truly innovative thinking,”
Bertagna said in the news release outlining the company’s continued support of
the university’s research program. “We began supporting Mason in 2016, with
their first small and no budget study, and to see this work evolve to this
degree is really impressive. Knowing that our technology continues to prove out
its efficacy in what could potentially help millions of seniors afflicted with
dementia is such a validation to our core mission statement.”
The university published encouraging results of an
exploratory study using GTX Corp’s tracking technology in June, which was soon
followed by the grant application to expand the research project. Approved in
July and funded for one year, the study has the potential to make a huge
difference in the lives of Alzheimer patients and their caregivers, researchers
stated in the June report (http://ibn.fm/IH7EB).
“The majority of people with AD are in danger of wandering
including getting lost. Subsequently, these individuals may get hurt, cause
extreme distress for family and caregivers, and require costly search efforts.
The presented research aimed at finding patterns of movement that can
eventually lead to prediction of wandering,” the report states.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are 5.7
million Americans of all ages currently living with Alzheimer’s, costing the
nation $277 billion in 2018. Those numbers are rising quickly, along with the
estimated number of Americans providing unpaid care for those with Alzheimer’s
or other dementia (http://ibn.fm/zd2Fh).
Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and
is a top cause of disability and poor health.
“The future of patient monitoring is in advanced
technologies, such as GTX’s SmartSole, aided by Artificial Intelligence and
prediction,” added Janusz Wojtusiak, associate professor and Director of Health
Informatics at George Mason’s College of Health and Human Services and lead
researcher of the study. “By combining these two technologies, we can achieve
what has not been possible before. The new study is getting us one step closer
to safe care for people with Alzheimer’s and understanding how wandering
patterns relate to progression of the disease.”
The research will be made available to GTX Corp, which will
consider deploying the prediction algorithms into its backend monitoring
platform, adding another layer of technology and overall value to the company’s
proprietary GPS tracking platform and monitoring services.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number
of people living with some form of dementia is expected to triple in the next
30 years from 50 million worldwide to 152 million by 2050. The estimated annual
global cost of dementia is $818 billion, or about one percent of the world’s
gross domestic product (http://ibn.fm/J1LuE).
“This pilot (research program) could produce the
groundbreaking data that may have the potential to save lives and dramatically
reduce the rising costs of this disease,” Andrew Carle, Adjunct Professor and
Founding Director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George
Mason, noted in a news release.
Andrew Duncan, GTX Corp director of business development,
agrees, adding, “This research combined with AI, could play a major role in
finding solutions to complex problems derived from Alzheimer’s, dementia and
autism.”
All of this comes on the heels of the company’s major
announcement in June that its tracking technology has been selected for use in
the UK to monitor dementia patients, and could soon become available in the
through the country’s National Health Service (http://ibn.fm/bBTf7).
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GTXCorp.com
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