Innovators Have Sized Up Market, Want Your Feet

Genovation Inc. sees a future in measuring your feet.

This spring, the privately held Irvine company started selling electronic gizmos for sizing feet to podiatrists, chiropractors and shoe retailers across Southern California and elsewhere.

Three months ago, at a shoe trade show in Germany, it launched its Foot-Fitter, a $250 electronic measuring device intended as a more accurate computer-age replacement for the standard gadget widely used by shoe sellers. Joseph Meshi, the company’s executive vice president, says Genovation has received hundreds of orders since then, has lined up product trials with major retailers, and expects to start shipments next month.

Last week, at a podiatrists’ conference in Anaheim, Genovation introduced another product--its Foot-Station, a $1,995 imaging system podiatrists can use to measure for custom insoles. It includes a pressure pad the customer steps on, which electronically senses a foot’s dimensions, and software that can be used with Windows 95 to generate a three-dimensional image of the foot.

Meshi says the system is much faster than the traditional method of using plaster or foam to make a cast of the foot.

He expects eventually to market the Foot-Station to retailers for taking orders electronically for custom shoes.

“You, the customer, will be able to order shoes from the Shopping Channel, the Internet or a virtual store and get a product that will fit your feet precisely,” Meshi predicts.

The foot-sizing market is a new one for Genovation. The company, which was founded nine years ago and employs 25 people, makes keypads for notebook computers. Several years ago, Meshi says, the company decided to diversify when it encountered tough competition in its basic business.

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Barbara Marsh covers health care for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7762 and at barbara.marsh@latimes.com.