Ultra wideband radio: A novel method for measuring wandering in persons with dementia

Wandering by persons with dementia is a complex syndrome of locomotive behaviors shaped by environmental, wanderer-specific and caregiver characteristics that vary the risk level for exiting, elopement, getting lost and accidental death. While valid and reliable methods to measure wandering exist, few have been evaluated for measurement of specific geographical patterns of wandering behavior as they occur in space and over time. In this paper we demonstrate how UWB-RFID can be used to unobtrusively and continuously measure two particularly high-risk wandering behaviors over intervals from weeks to months that occur in proximity to care setting exit points: lingering near exit doorways and shadowing (closely trailing behind) others who may exit.

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