The invention relates to a device and method for increasing the visualization of biological tissues and underlying structures. A particular application is to examine gums for pre-emergent teeth. One embodiment has a cylindrical lens portion and an offset handle which may also serve as a port of entry for light sources to brighten the viewing area. The method involves pressing body tissue with the device which serves to vacate the area of blood which increases light transmission through the tissue and enhances contrast between bone/teeth structure and flesh.

FIELD OF INVENTION 
The invention relates to a device for increasing the visualization of body 
surfaces and sub-surfaces and in particular for the purposes of examining 
the condition of pre-emergent teeth beneath the gum surface. 
BACKGROUND 
Common to all young children is the emergence of teeth through the gums 
which is associated with discomfort and pain. Parents and pediatricians 
alike are often frustrated in their efforts to determine whether a child's 
discomfort and irritability is because of "teething" or some other reason. 
At present there is no simple way to make this determination. The 
experienced pediatrician may palpate the gums and look for redness but 
this method is useful only in the advanced stages of emergence of teeth. 
There has been a device developed which assists in the examination of the 
tooth-jaw structure as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,355, entitled "Method and 
Apparatus for the non-invasive examination of the Tooth-Jaw structure of a 
patient to determine the characteristics of unerupted teeth and to control 
nutritional intake pursuant thereto" and issued to Harry A. and Mark A. 
Traiger. This rather elaborate device uses a source of illumination and an 
opto-detector in conjunction with a linear displacement transducer to 
provide size, distance and spatial measurements of structures in the jaw. 
This expensive and complex system is for use in a dental office by trained 
professionals. A cited benefit of this device is as an alternative to 
using x-rays, especially in young children. Other devices have been 
developed for use by the dentist in illuminating and/or increasing 
visualization in the patient's mouth. For example U.S. Patent No. 
4,790,751, entitled "Dental Viewing Apparatus and Method" issued to 
Richard Reinhardt, and Roca and Gerald Tussing, which is incorporated 
herein by reference, uses a fiber optic light guide and source with an 
intensity sufficient for transillumination. The apparatus is incorporated 
into an instrument to deliver air and water flow as well. This apparatus, 
like the previous one is only suitable for dental professionals. A number 
of articles on using fiberoptics for illumination of the oral cavity are 
referenced in the patent. 
Another area pertinent to the present invention is magnifiers. While there 
are a number of patents issued to inventors of magnifiers, none are 
expressly for dental applications. Among the patents relating to 
magnifiers are U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,588 entitled "Magnifier with Reference 
Line" issued to Emil and Lorraine Dalbo, incorporated herein by reference, 
and U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,616 entitled "Ruler with Magnifying Cursor" issued 
to Brian Hills. In both of these patents the magnifier portion is a single 
cylindrical type lens held very close to the material needing to be 
magnified. 
A refinement of magnifying devices is to provide a source of illumination. 
Fiber optic light guides have been incorporated into some dental devices 
as those referenced above. Other approaches are for general purpose 
magnifiers. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,405 issued to Richard 
Feinbloom, incorporated herein by reference, illustrates use of a light 
diffuser comprised of an annular light pipe which is abraded to diffuse 
light uniformly over a surface being viewed through a lens held over the 
surface. While illustrative of a method for introduction of additional 
illumination using a light pipe, an annular ring is not appropriate in the 
present application. 
None of the foregoing devices or methods address the need for an 
inexpensive, easy-to-use device which enables the lay person to determine 
whether pre-emergent teeth are pushing through the gums of small children. 
By taking a simpler approach than is typical in dental applications, the 
present invention solves a major problem. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention provides a device to assist parents and health care providers 
in determining whether discomfort of a non-verbal child results from 
impending emergence of teeth through the gums. 
The invention provides a method and apparatus for visualizing the 
substructure of gums of infants and young children. It comprises a means 
for pressing against the gums and magnifying the structure below. This may 
be done using ambient light and/or with the addition of other light. Wings 
or handles on one or both ends of the magnifier/compression portion of the 
device facilitate holding the device from outside the mouth and also serve 
as an alignment aid and deterrent to choking on the device. 
One version of the invention involves a clear plastic cylindrical-type 
linear lens with integral handles for ease of holding by the viewer. The 
design of the lens and attached handles is such that ambient and/or 
special directed sources of light may be used to brighten the viewing 
area. 
A lens is pressed against body tissue which serves to vacate the underlying 
area of blood, further enhancing contrast between bone/teeth structure and 
flesh. 
The present invention may be useful in several applications. In addition to 
use in infants and young children for determining placement and 
development of pre-emergent teeth, it would be helpful in older persons 
with impending gum diseases or deterioration in the root of the tooth. In 
addition, the device can be used with animals when underlying structures 
of surface tissues are of interest. 
Objects of the present invention are more readily appreciated and 
understood from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments with 
the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 is a hand held magnifying device 10 of the 
present invention. Referring now to FIG. 1, the invention 10 has a 
magnifier/viewing area 5 opposing a contact area 2; offsetting end 
connectors 3; and handles 4. The handles have an optional area for 
providing gripping pads 6. In the present configuration each of these 
sections is formed as an integral single piece having optical clarity 
throughout. The magnifying means may be chosen from magnifying lenses, 
regular geometrical patterns, light filters, and liquid crystals. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, a side view, there is more clearly shown the 
approximate relationship between the sections of device 10. The magnifying 
section 2, which in the principal application would be placed into the 
mouth, is on the order of 30-40 mm in length and 10 mm in cross section. 
The offsetting end connectors 3 provide 10-20 mm of extension from the 
handles 4 which are outside the mouth. The handles 4 which serve the 
multiple purposes of orienting the viewing section 5; providing a means 
for holding the device; and providing a size and shape which is difficult 
to accidently swallow, are on the order of 15-30 mm in length and 2-10 mm 
in thickness. In one modification of the present invention (see FIGS. 5a 
and 5b), the handles 4 and connecting sections 3 also serve to convey 
light to the viewing area 5. 
FIG. 3a, shows a top view of the device 10 as it would normally be viewed 
when in use. The approximate width of the handles 4 is shown in 
relationship to the width of the viewing area 5 and connecting section 3. 
Each section is of similar if not identical width; namely, in the range of 
5-15 mm. An area 6 for providing additional grip is also indicated. This 
could be accomplished in any number of ways: molded into the original 
product, added to the device after formation (as by affixing grit paper 
with adhesive for example), and/or by etching, sandblasting or otherwise 
treating the area. 
The cross section of the handle taken at line 3b--3b is seen in FIG. 3b. 
While the shape could be more or less rounded, oval, squared, or 
irregular, the rectangular shape shown is practical for low cost tooling 
and production. The cross section of the viewing section taken at line 
3c--3c is seen in FIG. 3c. This cross-section prevails throughout the 
viewing area 5. The 3c--3c cross-section shows two different radii of 
curvature. The top portion 5 has a substantially uniform curvature defined 
by r(7). The bottom portion, which is pressed to the surface being viewed, 
has a curvature defined by r(8) where r(8) is generally greater than r(7), 
that is, the bottom portion 2 is flatter than the viewing portion 5. In 
fact, the bottom portion 2 may be flat without compromising performance of 
the device. A suitable range of curvatures for R7 is 4-15 mm. A suitable 
range of curvatures for R8 is equal to or greater than 5 mm. The range of 
curvature for the top portion 5 is determined in part by the diameter of 
the device in the viewing section which for the reference embodiment 
ranges from 10-25 mm. The materials for the device 10 may be of glass or 
optically clear plastics from the family of acrylic, polycarbonate, 
styrene or such other materials having similar optical and forming 
properties. Suitable materials for a light pipe include clear and colored 
glass and polymers. Note that requirement for optical clarity does not 
preclude using a lightly tinted material. The handle 4 and offset 
connector 3 do not need to be optically clear or smooth for the embodiment 
of FIG. 1. In fact, handles 4 can be roughened to provide a better grip 
surface 6. Alternatively a gripping surface can be cemented to the handle 
after formation or all but area 6 could be screened during etching or 
surface treatment. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, a variation of the device of FIGS. 1-3 is shown. 
This device 20 is distinguished by having one or more slots (21 and 22) in 
the side of the device interposed between the viewing area 5 and the lower 
contact surface 2. The purpose of such slots which project across the 
entire width of the center section is to provide for a change of color or 
to view the tissue simultaneously with two different colors in the optical 
path for greater discrimination between different tissues viewed (as 
between flesh, bone and teeth). 
FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate another variation on the basic device. In this 
variation an external light source is provided to brighten the viewing 
area. Referring now to FIG. 5a, a side view of device 50 and partial 
cut-away of housing 51, at least one of the handles 4 of device 50 is 
hollowed out to form a cavity 52 into which an electric lamp 54 is 
inserted. Said lamp is supported in a housing 51 which contains a lamp 
mount, battery and connecting apparatus. The housing 51 also is shaped so 
as to fit around the end of the handle 4 and form a mechanical connection 
thereto in part through use of detentes 53. The handle 4 and offsetting 
connector 3 serve as a light pipe to convey light to the viewing 5 and 
contact 2 areas. Effective conveyance is dependent upon having a high 
optical transmission material (such as glass and some plastics like 
acrylic) and a gradual change in slope at the juncture of the handle and 
the connecting arm 55. If the curvature is much sharper than shown there 
will be loss of light out the sides of the device. 
Referring now to FIG. 5b, a top view of device 50 with a cut-away view of 
housing 51, points of attachment 60 and 61 of housing 51 to device 50 are 
indicated. Details of the light source and its housing 51 are seen. Lamp 
54 screws or twists into a socket 56 which has an insulted end button 57 
which makes contact with one end of a battery 59. The other end of the 
battery is contacted via a spring 58 which is electrically connected to a 
wire or strip 62 which is connected to the lamp socket wall, thereby 
completing the circuit. An alternative would be to provide a switch and/or 
integrate a switch into the design whereby pressing the end of the housing 
63 pushes against a spring on the opposite end (not shown) of the battery 
(which keeps the battery away from contact button 57) to complete the 
circuit. Hole 52 in the handle is fashioned to follow the contour of 
electrical lamp 54 used. The lips of housing 51 which fit over the handle 
serve not only as a means for mechanical attachment but are also designed 
so that light from the lamp is directed back into the handle. 
Referring now to FIG. 6, a method for application of the device is 
illustrated. The device 10 is held in both hands by the two handles 4 and 
the viewing/magnifying section 5 is placed into the mouth and pressed 
against the gums to expose the outline of underlying teeth. The surface of 
the device is compressible against the flexible environment of the gums. 
Other configurations of the visualization device would be obvious given a 
particular material or application in the mouth or on other body surfaces.