Today, in a world first, Canadian company Medical Intelligence, in collaboration with telecommunications operator Orange and Medidep, one of France's major private companies specializing in dependent care-giving solutions, unveiled a major technological innovation for Alzheimer's patients.

The rate of Alzheimer's patients that "wander" or "stray" is almost 60%, with a high death rate when they are not found quickly. The innovation introduced today is a definitive solution to the problems that families, caregivers and police authorities must deal with.

Columba, the new geopositioning phone-bracelet, required three years of research and development. Louis Massicotte, founding president of Medical Intelligence, had the idea of creating the bracelet after the repeated wanderings of his own mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's.

To prevent any disappearance, the Columba bracelet automatically detects any departure from a security zone surrounding the residence or nursing home. The "zone" is pre-determined by the patient's family or caregiver. The Columba then alerts a medical assistance centre that promptly contacts the family or caregiver to coordinate assistance efforts.

If required, the medical assistance centre, which operates 24-7, can accurately geoposition the bracelet wearer and establish audio communication using Columba's "handsfree" feature.

The Columba has a GPS-Assisted positioning system, a GSM / GPRS transmitter / receiver with a SIM card for voice and data, and an intelligent alert detection system.

The very first implementation of the system will take place this summer in Paris at the Medidep Brune nursing home. The medical assistance centre is managed by AXA-Assistance.

Nearly 800,000 people suffer from Alzheimer's in France, three-quarters of whom are in a home-care situation. Alzheimer's affects close to 10% of the population over the age of 65. There are currently 9.4 million people in this age group in Canada, a number that should climb to nearly 13.9 million - a 48% increase - by 2025.

"To successfully keep Alzheimer's patients in the home, we must do our utmost to guarantee their safety", says Dr. Stephane Bergeron, President and CEO of Medical Intelligence. "In order to responsibly secure the patient's environment, without restricting or isolating him or her, we must be alerted at the very beginning of an instance of wandering or running away. The Columba bracelet ensures such security and enables,, when required, the geopositioning of the wearer. You can even speak with him because the phone-bracelet is connected to the Orange network and includes a "handsfree" phone feature."

"Orange has supported the development of this product for the last two years, and we are pleased to see that our mobile phone network can make an effective contribution to patients' security and well-being. We are proud to contribute to the introduction of an innovative mobile service that responds to a major public health problem. The Columba phone-bracelet provides its wearer with a "lifeline", giving him more freedom and more security," stated Jean-Noel Tronc, Director of Strategy at Orange.

"It is a source of pride to see the world's first implementation of this device taking place in one of our nursing homes. Medidep has always supported innovative projects that enhance the well-being of its dependent patients," remarked Bruno Marie, Chairman of the Executive Board for Medidep.

The Columba phone-bracelet is expected to be available in drugstores before the end of 2005.

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