Field Evaluations of Tracking/Locating Technologies for Prevention of Missing Incidents.

Background: Persons with dementia are at risk of a missing incident, which is defined as an instance in which a demented person's whereabouts are unknown to the caregiver and the individual is not in an expected location. Since it is critical to determine the missing person's location as quickly as possible, we evaluated whether commercially available tracking technologies can assist in a rapid recovery.

Methods: This study examined 7 commercially available tracking devices: 3 radio frequency (RF) based and 4 global positioning system (GPS) based, employing realistic tracking scenarios.

Movement Path Tortuosity Predicts Compliance With Therapeutic Behavioral Prompts in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: Rehabilitation of patients with traumatic brain injury typically includes therapeutic prompts for keeping appointments and adhering to medication regimens. Level of cognitive impairment may significantly affect a traumatic brain injury victim's ability to benefit from text-based prompting. We tested the hypothesis that spatial disorientation as measured by movement path tortuosity during ambulation would be associated with poorer compliance with automated prompts by veterans actively being treated for traumatic brain injury.

Path tortuosity in everyday movements of elderly persons increases fall prediction beyond knowledge of fall history, medication use, and standardized gait and balance assessments.

Objectives: We hypothesized that variability in voluntary movement paths of assisted living facility (ALF) residents would be greater in the week preceding a fall compared with residents who did not fall.

Design: Prospective, observational study using telesurveillance technology.

Setting: Two ALFs.

Multidrug-resistant organisms in a community living facility: tracking patient interactions and time spent in common areas.

Contact precautions in community living facilities (CLF) are used to reduce the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO). However, this policy does not address the contamination of shared spaces, devices (eg, wheelchairs), and interactions with other patients. Using a real-time surveillance system, this study examines the time MDRO-positive patients spend interacting with others in communal areas.