VPECS

Every boot has to be tightened.

There is a corridor on top of your foot. An artery and a nerve run through it, with nothing over them.

Close the boot and you close the corridor.

Cold toes. Numb feet. Less of the control you tightened the boot to get.

VPECS bridges it.

The load goes to the sides. The corridor stays open.

Three points of contact instead of one.

Versatile PErfusion Control System

Tight and warm stopped being a trade-off.

VPECS is a licensable closure system that protects the dorsal corridor. It fits inside footwear you already make.

Start a licensing conversation See the measurements
Versatile PErfusion Control System

Tight and warm stopped being a trade-off.

There is a corridor on top of your foot where an artery and a nerve run. Every closure system presses on it. VPECS bridges it.

Start a licensing conversation See the measurements
STRAIGHT ONTO THE CORRIDOR THE CHANNEL DORSALIS PEDIS ARTERY DEEP FIBULAR NERVE

01 / The problem

The one place a foot has no protection.

The sole of your foot is built to take load. The top is not. The dorsal pedal artery and the deep fibular nerve run just under the skin, and the tongue of a shoe sits directly on them. Tighten the closure and you press on both.

02 / What we measured

Same force. Same contact area. The load moved.

One foot, one Salomon boot, buckled the same way twice. A Tekscan 5051 sensor across the top of the midfoot recorded both.

040080012001.9 mm from the inner edge: 439 mmHg3.1 mm from the inner edge: 116 mmHg4.3 mm from the inner edge: 448 mmHg5.6 mm from the inner edge: 107 mmHg6.9 mm from the inner edge: 340 mmHg8.1 mm from the inner edge: 179 mmHg9.5 mm from the inner edge: 304 mmHg10.7 mm from the inner edge: 287 mmHg12 mm from the inner edge: 349 mmHg13.2 mm from the inner edge: 340 mmHg14.5 mm from the inner edge: 45 mmHg15.7 mm from the inner edge: 287 mmHg17.1 mm from the inner edge: 304 mmHg18.4 mm from the inner edge: 376 mmHg19.5 mm from the inner edge: 582 mmHg20.8 mm from the inner edge: 1066 mmHg22.1 mm from the inner edge: 788 mmHg23.4 mm from the inner edge: 1048 mmHg24.6 mm from the inner edge: 1146 mmHg25.9 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg26.9 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg27.6 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg28.5 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg29.6 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg30 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg31 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg32.3 mm from the inner edge: 1191 mmHg33.6 mm from the inner edge: 1021 mmHg34.8 mm from the inner edge: 708 mmHg36.1 mm from the inner edge: 466 mmHg37.4 mm from the inner edge: 439 mmHg38.7 mm from the inner edge: 304 mmHg39.7 mm from the inner edge: 161 mmHg40.2 mm from the inner edge: 161 mmHg41.2 mm from the inner edge: 179 mmHg42.4 mm from the inner edge: 224 mmHg43.7 mm from the inner edge: 134 mmHg45 mm from the inner edge: 134 mmHg46.3 mm from the inner edge: 72 mmHg47.6 mm from the inner edge: 107 mmHg48.8 mm from the inner edge: 107 mmHg49.8 mm from the inner edge: 90 mmHg50.3 mm from the inner edge: 90 mmHg51.3 mm from the inner edge: 152 mmHg52.6 mm from the inner edge: 90 mmHg53.9 mm from the inner edge: 81 mmHg55 mm from the inner edge: 116 mmHgWithout VPECScorridor mean 1128 mmHgpeak 1191 mmHg at 26 mm040080012001.3 mm from the inner edge: 266 mmHg2.9 mm from the inner edge: 196 mmHg4.2 mm from the inner edge: 114 mmHg5.5 mm from the inner edge: 177 mmHg6.8 mm from the inner edge: 329 mmHg8.1 mm from the inner edge: 373 mmHg9.2 mm from the inner edge: 234 mmHg10.6 mm from the inner edge: 184 mmHg11.9 mm from the inner edge: 639 mmHg13.1 mm from the inner edge: 494 mmHg14.5 mm from the inner edge: 253 mmHg15.6 mm from the inner edge: 418 mmHg17 mm from the inner edge: 196 mmHg18.3 mm from the inner edge: 108 mmHg19.3 mm from the inner edge: 323 mmHg20.8 mm from the inner edge: 228 mmHg22.6 mm from the inner edge: 108 mmHg24.3 mm from the inner edge: 95 mmHg24.9 mm from the inner edge: 95 mmHg27.2 mm from the inner edge: 32 mmHg28.4 mm from the inner edge: 38 mmHg29.4 mm from the inner edge: 101 mmHg30 mm from the inner edge: 101 mmHg31 mm from the inner edge: 44 mmHg33.5 mm from the inner edge: 57 mmHg34.7 mm from the inner edge: 158 mmHg36.1 mm from the inner edge: 133 mmHg37.4 mm from the inner edge: 209 mmHg38.6 mm from the inner edge: 44 mmHg39.5 mm from the inner edge: 76 mmHg40 mm from the inner edge: 76 mmHg41.2 mm from the inner edge: 95 mmHg42.3 mm from the inner edge: 228 mmHg44.5 mm from the inner edge: 734 mmHg46.3 mm from the inner edge: 291 mmHg47.5 mm from the inner edge: 399 mmHg48.8 mm from the inner edge: 177 mmHg50.2 mm from the inner edge: 462 mmHg51.2 mm from the inner edge: 310 mmHg52.5 mm from the inner edge: 361 mmHg53.6 mm from the inner edge: 310 mmHgWith VPECScorridor mean 75 mmHgpeak 734 mmHg at 44 mm0102030405060Distance across the top of the midfoot, millimetresPressure, mmHgTHE CORRIDOR
Without VPECS With VPECS The corridor is the 22 to 34 mm strip where the artery and nerve run
Show the numbers
Summary of the two pressure traces
MeasureWithout VPECSWith VPECS
Mean pressure, 22 to 34 mm corridor1128 mmHg75 mmHg
Highest reading1191 mmHg734 mmHg
Where the highest reading sits26 mm, the middle44 mm, the side
Total force through the sensor91.3 N92.1 N
Contact area2889 mm²2908 mm²

Tekscan I-Scan Lite, model 5051 sensor, 9 December 2018. Values read from the recorded traces. Download both traces as JSON.

112875

Mean pressure in the corridor, mmHg. A drop of 93 percent.

91.3 → 92.1

Total force through the sensor, newtons. Effectively unchanged.

2889 → 2908

Contact area, square millimetres. Effectively unchanged.

2644

Where the highest pressure sits, millimetres across. Off the corridor, onto the side.

03 / What it does to blood flow

Preserved blood flow to the toes.

Left foot0%25%50%75%100%unbuckled baselineUnbuckled+1 min+15 min+30 mintime after bucklingLeft foot, without VPECS, unbuckled: 100% of baselineLeft foot, without VPECS, buckled, 1 minute: 21% of baseline21%one reading onlyLeft foot, with VPECS, unbuckled: 100% of baselineLeft foot, with VPECS, buckled, 1 minute: 87% of baselineLeft foot, with VPECS, buckled, 15 minutes: 102% of baselineLeft foot, with VPECS, buckled extra tight, about 30 minutes: 95% of baseline95%Right footUnbuckled+1 min+15 min+30 mintime after bucklingRight foot, without VPECS, unbuckled: 100% of baselineRight foot, without VPECS, buckled, 1 minute: 63% of baselineRight foot, without VPECS, buckled, 15 minutes: 69% of baselineRight foot, without VPECS, buckled extra tight, about 30 minutes: 72% of baseline72%Right foot, with VPECS, unbuckled: 100% of baselineRight foot, with VPECS, buckled, 1 minute: 102% of baselineRight foot, with VPECS, buckled, 15 minutes: 102% of baselineRight foot, with VPECS, buckled extra tight, about 30 minutes: 92% of baseline92%
Without VPECS With VPECS
Without VPECS, worst reading
21%Of that same foot's unbuckled baseline, one minute after buckling.
With VPECS, across 30 minutes
87 to 102%Both feet, every reading, including buckled extra tight at thirty minutes.

Toe pressure index is the toe pressure of a foot measured against its own unbuckled reading, so each foot is its own control. The left foot without VPECS has one reading only.

04 / Try it

Press and hold.

Switch VPECS on and off to see what sits under the tongue. Then hold the buckle closed and watch where the load goes.

Cross section of the midfoot without VPECS. The closure presses straight down and the artery and the nerve are squeezed flat between it and the bone. Cross section of the midfoot with VPECS. A channel bridges the corridor, so the artery and the nerve sit in a protected pocket and stay round and open.
Under the tongue The artery and the nerve take the load directly.
TWO POINTS OF CONTACT THREE POINT FIXATION
Where the load lands Two points. The top one lands straight on the corridor.

Toe pressure

100%

05 / Built, not drawn

Retrofitted into real footwear.

Working prototypes across five categories. VPECS sits under the tongue, so from the outside the shoe is the shoe.

A pair of black and grey hiking boots with VPECS printed on the tongue and heel.

Hiking boot

Built with VPECS branding on the tongue. Sympatex lined. First VPECS hiking boot, January 2025.

A pair of black and olive mountain bike shoes with BOA dials and VPECS lettering on the tongue.

Cycling shoe

Mountain bike pattern with a BOA closure. Pre-production prototype built with AC Studio in Montebelluna.

A white Head Revolt Pro tennis shoe.

Tennis shoe

Head Revolt Pro, retrofitted. Nothing shows from the outside.

A white Ecco golf shoe.

Golf shoe

Ecco, retrofitted.

A white FootJoy golf shoe with a small red VPECS tab on the tongue.

Golf shoe

FootJoy, retrofitted, with the VPECS tab visible on the tongue.

About the brands shown here. These are prototypes we built ourselves into shoes we bought. Head, Ecco, FootJoy and Salomon are not partners of VPECS and have not endorsed it. We show them because retrofitting a production shoe is the honest test of whether VPECS fits real footwear.

06 / Applications

Anywhere a closure crosses the corridor.

  • 01 Ski boots prototype
  • 02 Cycling shoes prototype
  • 03 Hiking boots prototype
  • 04 Tennis shoes prototype
  • 05 Golf shoes prototype
  • 06 Ice hockey skates
  • 07 Running shoes
  • 08 Cross-country ski boots
  • 09 Orthopedic shoes

07 / Protection

Granted, not pending.

  • 2021

    Patent granted in Europe, Canada and China.

  • JUN 2022

    US patent granted.

  • 2021 / 2022

    VPECS trademark registered in the EU and the US.

  • APR 2025

    Second US patent issued.

  • HOLDER

    All IP is held by Cintor AB, Sweden.

08 / Origin

It started with a nine-year-old's question.

In February 2019, in northern Sweden, Henrik Bjursten's daughter asked why her toes were cold inside thick ski boots. He is a cardiac surgeon. He had spent twenty years thinking about blood flow through vessels, so he went and measured it. Buckling the boot was cutting flow through the dorsal artery by up to ninety percent. He built a prototype that did not, and filed the patent.

Prof. Henrik Bjursten, MD, PhD Cardiac surgeon, inventor Cintor AB

Avalon Innovation Lund University Faculty of Medicine Skåne University Hospital Tekscan Protolabs AC Studio, Montebelluna

09 / The real questions

What brands ask first.

Does it need new tooling?

No. VPECS goes into the tongue and the closure, on lasts you already run. Every prototype on this page is a retrofit into a production shoe.

What does it add to the bill of materials?

A three-layer insert and a modified tongue. We size it with you against your target cost before anything is committed.

Can we charge more for it?

Yes. VPECS has justified a price premium of 10 to 15 percent in different markets. Set that against the bill of materials answer above and you have the business case.

Is this only for ski boots?

It started there because a ski boot is the hardest case. Anything with a strap, a lace or a dial over the midfoot has the same corridor.

How is it tested?

Laser Doppler flowmetry, toe pressure index, skin temperature probes, and Tekscan pressure mapping. Done at Lund University Faculty of Medicine and Skåne University Hospital.

What is actually licensed?

The granted patents, the VPECS trademark, and the engineering that makes it fit your shoe. You build it. We show you how.

10 / Next

Tell us which shoe.

Send the category and the closure you use. You get the test data, the patent position, and an honest answer on whether VPECS fits it.

Cintor AB, Sweden
info@vpecstechnology.com

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