NOVEL

B4. Novel GmbH (NOV)

The company Novel (NOV), founded in 1978 by Peter Seitz, has been focused on reliable electronics and sensor technology for biomechanical, medical and industrial application. In 1984 the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) approved a significant grant to Novel for developing the first dynamic pressure distribution measurement platform system (emed®) for the early recognition of high pressure points under the neuropathic diabetic foot. The project was undertaken in cooperation with the Diabetes Research Group Munich, Orthopedic University Hospital Munich and the methodology was named Pedography. In 1986, Novel presented as a world-first the pedar^® system for the analysis of pressure distribution inside special shoes for people with diabetes. The pedar systems became the gold standard in in-shoe measurement world-wide and were also used for the NASA International Space Station to assess body load in astronauts running on treadmills. Other systems for perinatology, automotive applications, sport biomechanics and many other fields were developed.