novel electronics inc. has served the North American region since 1987. Originally based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, we are now based in Pittsburgh.
novel inc. works closely with its North American customers providing sales, technical and application support and all distribution from Pittsburgh. Working with novel gmbh we provide innovative, accurate, reliable solutions that meet our customers need in fields such as biomechanics, orthopaedics, physical therapy, sports medicine, footwear development, industry and more.
With more than 45 years of experience, novel is the global leader in accurate and reliable load distribution measurement systems.
The company has developed several system families that are able to measure contact forces between many surfaces, for example between hand and tool, foot and shoe, buttock and seat, or car tires and the ground. All novel systems operate with high quality, calibrated sensors and provide reliable and reproducible long-term measurements.
Outstanding scientific software for the analysis of medical and industrial data allows the user to be always one step ahead.
novel gmbh was founded in 1978 by Peter Seitz, who received his education from the Technical University of Munich. The novel headquarters are in Munich, Germany.
The company’s North American office is here, in Pittsburgh, PA.
art in science®is novel's motto and trademark because we strongly feel that excellent science is also a piece of art.
Development of emed® Pedography for Functional Diagnostics
In the early 1980's the first studies were published by Boulton, Betts and Duckworth about the use of pedography in medical diagnostics for the diabetic foot. Inspired by these publications from England, researchers Kirsch, Hauser, Schaff and Seitz carried out the first attempts in Germany to examine pressure alterations on the diabetic neuropathic foot.
emed® sensor technology allowed precise electronic dynamic pressure measurements for the first time in history.
The preliminary tests using the system showed noticeable discrepancies between the neuropathic foot and the healthy foot. In a 1984 project, sponsored by BMFT, the research group, Diabetes Munich studied feet of more than 600 persons with diabetes using novel systems under the guidance of Professor Helmut Mehnert.
As a result of this work, many emed® systems are used for examining diabetic feet in leading research centers in the USA, Japan, Australia, and many other countries.
In 1986, novel presented the first pedography system for the analysis of the dynamic foot function inside shoes (pedar®). Ten years later, novel developed a system for the NASA International Space Station to assess body load in astronauts running on treadmills. This system is still used there today.
The pliance® system was designed to work with soft surface applications. Primary areas of application for this system are measurements on aircraft and car seats, office chairs, and wheelchairs. Other applications include looking at pressures between the socket and residual limb in a person with an amputation, measurement on the hand, or under a garment within the textile industry. These systems have the capability to be synchronized with other measuring instruments including motion capture systems.
This has attracted a long list of users in various fields like medicine, biomechanics and industry. These factors have shaped more than 40 years of exciting work. Instead of mass production and financial gains, innovation and reliability are the driving factors in all novel developments.
Today novel systems are used by well-known companies, universities and research centers all over the world.
At novel, our priority is to enable the highest quality in measurement and we strongly believe in art in science.
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