Case Study: University of Arizona helps Alzheimer’s patients stay safe with Google for Education

Taking up a personal cause, students help Alzheimer’s patients with a GPS-enabled smartwatch

The University of Arizona became the setting for Guardian, a student-built project inspired by Teresa Portela’s father-in-law’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The team needed a way to help patients who wander or get lost while preserving their autonomy, and they turned to Google for Education’s Google Cloud Platform to build the foundation for their idea.

Using Google Cloud Platform, the team implemented Firebase Authentication, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Cloud Functions, and Cloud Firestore to power a cloud-based caregiver app with location tracking, reminders, vital-sign monitoring, and secure user data syncing. With Google for Education’s tools, they quickly set up database connections and backend services, won a prize for best use of GCP at Hack Arizona, and developed a working prototype that is now helping Portela’s father-in-law while they prepare to bring Guardian to market.

University of Arizona

Michael Lewelling

IT Support