Families Use Apps to Track Relatives With Dementia

More and more families of people with dementia are opting for mobile apps and devices to monitor them, reports the Wall Street Journal . Although such technology holds the promise of prolonging independent living for adults with memory problems, it is by no means a cure-all. "This stuff takes money and time to set up and maintain," says AARP's Andy Miller. "It either becomes a burden or something goes wrong and the stuff ends up in the junk drawer." University of Minnesota Professor Joseph Gaugler analyzed the effectiveness of remote activity monitoring technology over six months for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or related dementia. His research determined such technology works best for people in the earliest stages of the disease.