Wearable devices track people via wireless network

Mobile technology is opening new channels for remotely monitoring family members and others who need to be tracked.

Several companies, including medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific, have struck deals with major wireless carriers to support a new generation of products that incorporate sensors, accelerometers, GPS and technologies that use cell towers to help triangulate positions and locate people. ABI Research, a research firm, estimates the market for GPS personal tracking devices will grow 40% or more annually and exceed $1 billion by 2017. Family members use them to track toddlers or parents with Alzheimer's. And doctors and military medics have adopted the technology to remotely track the health conditions — EKG readings, body temperature, heart rate, and stress or dehydration levels — of recently released patients or soldiers on dangerous assignments.