16 months ago, when Telecare Aware started tracking international stories about the Columba phone-bracelet for people with dementia, no one in the UK had heard of it.
Now, its developers, Medical Intelligence Technologies, have signed a ‘letter of intent’ to work with Tunstall to market it in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The bracelet aims to ‘prevent disappearance among Alzheimer’s patients’ and is billed as ‘a definitive solution to the problems of walking and straying often associated with Alzheimer’s disease. [It combines] handsfree portable telephone, GPS positioning system and an intelligent alert system that detects any straying outside of a safe zone.’ According to the press release, the Columba device ‘is able to quickly locate the person who has exited this pre-defined zone, thereby reducing the risks associated with Alzheimer’s patients’ walking habits.’