A Japanese city has introduced a novel way to keep track of senior citizens with dementia who are prone to getting lost — tagging their fingers and toes with scan-able barcodes.
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A company in Iruma, north of Tokyo, developed tiny nail stickers, each of which carries a unique identity number to help concerned families find missing loved ones, according to the city’s social welfare office.
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The adhesive QR-coded seals for nails — part of a free service launched this month and a first in Japan — measure just one centimetre in size.
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If an elderly person becomes disoriented, police will find the local city hall, its telephone number and the wearer’s ID all embedded in the QR code.
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The chips remain attached for an average of two weeks — even if they get wet — the official said, citing recent trials.
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Japan is grappling with a rapidly ageing population with senior citizens expected to make up a whopping 40 per cent of the population around 2060.
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Last month, Japanese police started offering noodle discounts at local restaurants to elderly citizens who agreed to hand in their driving licences.
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The offer followed a series of deadly accidents involving elderly drivers — a growing problem in a country where 4.8 million people aged 75 or older hold a licence.
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Source: CTVNews
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