Tekscan is proud to support and enable innovative technologies that can have a life-changing positive impact on millions of people.  

We congratulate the Variasole team in competing for the prestigious international James Dyson Award, having previously won the John McLaren Youth Award in New Zealand. 

Tekscan is the industry standard for insole and gait analysis due to the high resolution and performance of our custom designed sensors and software. Tekscan’s TactileLab is open to global customers, suppliers, and technology partners collaborating with Tekscan to develop novel pressure mapping solutions. 

What is the Variasole? 

The Variasole is a mass-customized, orthotic insole designed to alleviate plantar pressure for those suffering from ulceration or infection, particularly from diabetes. Over 100 million around the world suffer from diabetic foot issues, many of which can be extremely debilitating. 

The Variasole works to reduce dangerous peak plantar pressure points with custom insoles that redistribute that pressure. It does so by combining data from a 3D lidar scanner and a Tekscan-enabled pressure mapping gait cycle measurement. That data is run through the Variasole pressure reduction algorithm and CAD tool to generate a set of unique 3D-printed insoles with their own custom TPU material. 

The results show a 70.1% improvement in pressure reduction compared to similarly priced memory foam insoles. This is a custom solution at a tiny fraction of the cost of professionally fit insoles, in a solution that can easily scale.