Web, GPS-based system keep tabs on Alzheimer's patients

If ever there were a debilitating condition that called out for mobile monitoring technology, Alzheimer's disease would be it. And that's why the Alzheimer's Association is teaming with location-based technology vendor Omnilink to offer Comfort Zone, a web-based application that tracks and relays the position of Alzheimer's patients to prevent them from straying from familiar territory, unable to remember the way back.

Comfort Zone includes GPS tracking technology and a cellular link to a monitoring center. Caregivers can follow Alzheimer's patients online through a secure web portal and receive automatic email or text alerts if the patient strays from a predefined area. They also can access electronic medical records on the patients through the MedicAlert Foundation.

Service packages start at $42.99 per month, and there's a $45 activation fee.

To learn more about Comfort Zone:
- read this InformationWeek story
- click through to the Comfort Zone site

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