New high-tech heel offers more comfort for women

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It's no secret women love stilettos despite the foot pain and damage they can cause, but a local entrepreneur is using rocket science technology to help her build a better high heel.

Dr. Melanie Goldfarb is a busy thyroid specialist who runs from the exam room to the operating room but said she wears heels almost every day of her life, including during some 12-hour shifts.

After medicine, shoes are her passion. The 5-foot surgeon prefers 5-inch heels but wants stability.

"They have to be comfortable. I will not wear shoes that are not comfortable," she said.

Comfort and style are not easy to find in a stiletto, but entrepreneur Dolly Singh wants to re-invent the heel.

Singh said her fundamental goal is to make a stiletto that feels like a wedge.

The former SpaceX employee said a metal insert can be found in most stiletto shoes, which forces the foot into a precarious position.

"You are basically walking around on your toes in a high-heeled shoe today - 80 percent of your body weight is on the balls of your feet," she said.

Singh's design solution is a proprietary plastic platform that evenly disperses a person's weight between the toes and the heel.

Dr. Robert Lee, the head of podiatry at Santa Monica's UCLA Medical Center, said compared to a spike heel, a shoe designed like a wedge should offer a more stable, wider heel base, with much less of an incline.

"There does appear to be a slight wedge construct in the forefoot. And if that's what it is, then it should be more comfortable and maybe does help to offload that forefoot weight,' he said.

Better weight distribution should equal less pain, but Lee warns standing for hours in even the most comfortable high heel can lead to foot problems.

Singh said the shoes, available in May, will be sold under the label Thesis Couture and will run between $350 to $1,500.

Many women are willing to pay for comfort and high style, but for Goldfarb, that price range is still a bit steep.

"I'm willing to spend a couple hundred dollars for, you know, really good, comfortable shoes for work, but that's about it," she said.