After reading weekly about wandering individuals with dementia -- lost and then found, not necessarily alive, I think it's time for an update. Here is a bit more detail on a few of the new players engaged in technology that helps track people with Alzheimer's or other dementia. These products are device-plus- service offerings, may not yet be available in all geographies, and this information is from the vendors.

AlzGuard - GPS based. The AlzGuard is a new product that was developed for individuals with Alzheimer's, a portable GPS device, the size of a beeper that is worn by the individual with Alzheimer's. Internet-based information ahas the ability to be accessed from any location -- The product provides a "Geo Fencing Alarm", alerting when a perimeter has been breached, a GPS locater that displays location in a Google maps format. The product can also store medical and emergency (like a medical bracelet), and provides a log-in social networking and information portal -- that can be used by caregivers or others who are designated.  Developed by Electronic Health Network, a company that is also moving into the Personal Health Record (PHR) space with a product they are calling "HealthStik." EHN is a Charleston, SC company, working with The Alzheimer's Association South Carolina, The Trident Area Agency on Aging. Dr. Warachal Faison is the Medical Director for The AlzGuard product. For pricing and further details, learn more at http://www.alzguard.com.

Emfinders - Cellular-based.  The company is a Texas-based firm that arose out of the North Texas Center for Medical Technology (NTEC).This technology uses triangulation to determine the precise location of a mobile phone, or, as in this case, the location of a wearablr wearable device. This technology meets the Federal E-911 requirements, and now covers at least 90 percent of the USA. Although the technology was originally designed as a location technology for cell phones, EmFinders has adapted it for the purpose of locating people who wander and become lost. With EmFinders, an impaired person wears a small, lightweight device, which is passive until the wearer is reported missing -- tracking is both indoors and outside, directly notifying law enforcement (versus a service that contacts law enforcement).  For pricing and further details, learn more at http://www.emfinders.com.

LoJack.  LoJack, the Massachusetts company that helps find stolen cars, recently announced  LoJack SafetyNet service delivered in conjunction with Project LifeSaver International. The program's process requires  enrollment, assessment, and training of a caregiver, as well as outfitting a client with a wearable device. The program representative visits monthly to change the battery and strap.  If a person is reported missing, law enforcement and designees access the database to retrieve the records, and the Search and Rescue Receivers are located via radio transmissions which use a frequency band that extends across the United States and Canada. here's a new article about its use in Florida.  For pricing and further details, learn more at http://www.lojack.com/safetynet.

And don't forget about Verizon Chaperone and Sprint -- vendors that don't think they're in this space, but in early stages can help with trackable cell phones for those who can be persuaded to carry them. Not to be left out, AT&T has just released FamilyMap.