X-RAY MACHINE ASSISTS IN FITTING SHOES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 76, 11 April 1949, Page 5

X-RAY MACHINE ASSISTS IN FITTING SHOES

Remember how you have gone into the shop and bought shoes that are too small for you because you liked the look of them? And remember how you have thought a pair of shoes have fitted your feet “perfectly” while trying them on in the shop, but after wearing them for a time outside they have begun to make your feet feel as though they are going through the mincer every time you walk? Well those days should now be past. In fact, it is now possible to go into two shoe retailers at Whakatane and actually see how your feet fit into any shoe you try on. It is# quite simple really. X-ray is the answer.

Although not a new idea X-ray has only just been introduced to Whakatane for shoe fitting. The unit is a small, compact piece of, machinery, standing about 30 inches high and a foot square. Comparatively simple to operate it is very mobile and can be moved to any part of the shop. In Operation

The foot is placed on an opaque ledge in an opening at the base of the unit. A view slot on top of the machine enables the person being fitted and the shop assistant, to see the foot and how it lies inside the shoe. .

The X-ray section is in the top of the unit and the rays are aimed downward through the foot, the image being flashed on to the opaque base. Below this is a tilted mirror, which shows the image on to another mirror tilted upward and this is what is seen through the view slot on the top of the machine.

The machines are made in Australia and those at Whakatane are some of the very first to be brought into New Zealand. They are particularly valuable in fitting shoes for children. They should do away with crooked feet that have been caused by badly fitting shoes. It is significant that the machines were manufactured by a firm that specialises in medical equipment. Carters and Bridgers are featuring the new X-ray fittings at Whakatane. >