GPS Shoes now available from TippToes

15th Oct 2012

Aetrex Navistar™ GPS SHOES for tracking Alzheimer’s sufferers now available in the UK and Ireland

Innovative GPS shoes help caregivers keep track of loved ones prone to wandering

Los Angeles, October 11, 2012 – GTX Corp (OTCBB: GTXO), a leader in customizable, patented 2-way GPS solutions, has announced today that the award winning, patented GPS tracking “Smart Shoe” will be commercially available in the U.K and Ireland this month.   The Shoes , known as the “Aetrex Navistar ™ GPS Shoes, will be made under license by Aetrex Worldwide, Inc., a global manufacturer and leader in comfort footwear and will be distributed by Tipp Toes, a long-time Aetrex Worldwide distributor located in Ireland.  

The Alzheimer’s Society in the U.K estimates there are 800,000 people in the UK and Ireland afflicted with Alzheimer’s and Dementia and are prone to wandering. Statistics show that if not found within the first 24 hours, over 50% may be found seriously harmed. A unique monitoring solution to help caregivers find their loved ones quickly is entering the market this month. A cellular and global positioning system (GPS) technology embedded inside comfortable walking shoes designed for seniors. The Aetrex Navistar GPS Shoes, powered by GTX Corp, are being introduced to the UK and Ireland at (www.gpsshoes.eu), following recent introduction in the U.S. and Australia.   EE, the UK’s most advanced digital communications company, will be the wireless SIM provider for the GPS Shoes after having recently signed a global contract with GTX Corp which will enable the shoes to work in over 50 countries across the globe which utilize the GSM network.

The patented GTX Corp technology in the Aetrex Navistar GPS Shoes enable the wearer to be monitored remotely, there by helping to ensure their safety, providing peace of mind to their caregivers, and reducing the cost of remote oversight. The GPS Shoes are embedded with a miniaturized proprietary module, which contains the locator’s integrated GPS / Cellular chipset and the SIM card that is unique to each wearer. The GPS Shoes communicate via EE’s cellular network and sends location coordinates via a wireless data connection, similar to sending SMS messages on a cell phone. If the wearer of the GPS Shoes wanders outside of a pre-set location determined by the caregiver, an SMS or e -mail message will alert the caregiver instantly.

The GPS Shoes have been heralded by healthcare and technology authorities around the world and is featured in the “100 Most Important Inventions of Mankind” Exhibit in the National Museum of Science and Technology in Sweden. To date, caregivers who have used the Aetrex Navistar GPS Shoes are saying the following:

Sylvia Lett lived in fear every time her father, wandered away from home. “The Aetrex GPS Shoes that we purchased for our father is the best investment we have made.  My father has always been a sharp dresser and he loved how the shoes looked.  His exact response was these shoes look rather snappy. My father can still walk 5 miles a day on a nice day. The problem is he forgets how to get back and gets lost taking different ways. The shoes have made our lives 1000 times better. Just knowing he is safe now with the GPS shoes bring me to tears of gladness.”

“This is a simple solution to a growing problem. Other devices are either too complicated or tend to be rejected by the Alzheimer’s and Dementia sufferers, but the Aetrex Navistar GPS Shoes have proven to be a more friendly and reliable means of keeping track of those who wander. As a result, Alzheimer’s sufferers who wear the Shoes are receiving better care and enjoying a more flexible lifestyle, while the cost of supervision they require is reduced. When you consider the spiralling costs of caring for the millions of Alzheimer’s and Dementia sufferers – over £23 billion - our GPS Shoes can free up precious resources to be used in other critical areas.” stated Andrew Duncan, GTX Corp’s head of International licensing and Board Director.

According to Age UK, a leading charitable organization dedicated to improving later-life quality; there are more than two million older people in Britain who live at home, many of them dealing with some level of Dementia. Mervyn Kohler, Special Advisor for Age UK, discussed in a recent British Broadcasting Corporation interview why GPS technology is so important for these people: “The universal message from the elderly population is that they want to live independently in their own home. We have between 100,000 and 150,000 people entering care homes every year. We want to keep people alive and successfully in their homes as long as possible, and this technology gives us a bridge forward.”[i]

The Aetrex Navistar GPS Shoes can make a major contribution to the worthy and socially beneficial goal of keeping seniors safe while prolonging their stay in their own homes. 

 

 

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9745189.stm

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/infographic

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2054338/Shoes-designed-tracking-device-help-families-Alzheimers-sufferers.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9205546/800000-vulnerable-elderly-fighting-to-stay-in-their-homes.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9745189.stm