According to the Alzheimer's Association, of the estimated five million Americans with the disease, about 60 percent of them wander off alone. As a result, many often become dangerously lost.
Kenneth Shinozuka was just 15 years old when he stunned the world with a simple yet groundbreaking invention. Kenneth's grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when he was a little boy. Night after night, his grandpa would get out of bed and wander off alone. One day, Kenneth had a lightbulb moment. This intelligent, resourceful boy scout ended up inventing a sensor to be placed underneath his grandpa's foot. Now, when his grandpa gets up in the middle of the night, the sensor detects an increase in pressure and sends a wireless alert to a caregiver's smartphone.
Since creating his brilliant invention and obtaining a much-deserved patent, Kenneth's "Safe Wander" invention has won him a $50,000 prize in the Science in Action awards. In the first six months since Kenneth attached his device to his grandfather's sock, it detected all of his 437 known cases of wandering out of bed — with no false alarms. "I hope that my device will ultimately reach out to the tens of millions of wandering patients around the world and also relieve the burdens on their caregivers," he says.
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