What could be better in life than someone who naturally combines a big brain with a great heart? Kenneth Shinozuka, 15 years old, is just such a person. Two years ago, his grandfather, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, began wandering from his bed at night. This is not uncommon — of the 5.2 million Alzheimer’s sufferers in the United States, more than 65 percent wander from their homes. One night, his grandfather wandered as far as the freeway.

“We were woken up by a police officer knocking on the door,” Shinozuka told NBC News. “It was, yeah, very real and very scary.”

After searching for an appropriate monitor for his grandfather, Shinozuka came up short so he decided to invent his own. The device he created immediately and reliably detects the moment his grandfather steps onto the floor and then sends an audible alert to Shinozuka’s smartphone. How can this be? The sensor is worn on the bottom of his grandfather’s sock.

Young Kenneth with his Grandfather
Young Kenneth with his grandfather courtesy of YouTube

Shinozuka won a Science Action award from Scientific American for his wearable sensor, which is currently being tested by patients in a nursing home. Shinozuka, who loves nature and is a boy scout, says he wants to cure Alzheimer's disease someday.

“He wants to help people,” Maria Feng, his proud mother, told NBC News. “He wants to solve problems for people.”