Abstract:
A foot examination device is presented including a mirror held in a base member, which is controlled and held in a person &#39;s hand, which also includes a footrest to allow the user to rest his or her foot at an angle proximate the mirror so that the person can see the bottom of his or her foot easily.

Description:
This application claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/162,020 filed Oct. 28, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an apparatus for viewing the bottom of a foot and, in particular, to an apparatus with a magnifying mirror and footrest to allow people with diabetes to effectively examine the bottom of their feet. 
     A high number of diabetic ulcers develop in people with diabetes in areas where they do not feel pain or where there is poor blood flow, such as in their feet. Many with diabetes are older with vision problems and arthritis which makes it very difficult for them to bend over and examine their feet, especially the bottom of their feet. Ulcers, lesions, sores or other injuries not identified or discovered early in the process may result in gangrene and possibly amputation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a device for examining the bottom of a foot employing a footrest which allows proper placement of the foot to be examined. 
     Another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for examining the bottom of a foot employing a footrest, which supports the foot in a still position to allow for a more accurate examination. 
     Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for examining the bottom of a foot as aforesaid which incorporates the use of a magnifying mirror for those with vision difficulties to enable detection of small lesions. 
     Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for examining the bottom of a foot as aforesaid, which is supported on the floor and includes a handle for user control 
     Another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for examining the bottom of a foot as aforesaid which can be easily turned from one side to the other to allow easy examination or both the left and right foot. 
     Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for examining the bottom of a foot as aforesaid which is relatively easy to use. 
     These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by a free standing device that includes a base member with a footrest and an arm extending from the base to a handle that is grasped by the device user. A mirror is mounted to the base member below the footrest and angled toward the footrest to allow the user to view the bottom of his or her foot which is placed on the footrest without having to bend over too far or to twist his or her foot or head around to view the bottom of the foot. Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, a now preferred embodiment of this invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a foot examination device. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the foot examination device of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of the foot examination device of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is the device as shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the lines of sight. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 14 illustrate a foot examination device  10  having a base  12 , an arm  14  projecting generally upwardly and outwardly therefrom, and a handle  16  at the end of arm  14  opposite base  12 . A mirror  18  is mounted to a mirror support arm  20  projecting inwardly and generally perpendicularly to base  12 . A footrest  22  extends inwardly from base  12  above mirror support arm  20 . Footrest  22  is generally U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped and lies above and to the side of mirror  18 . Mirror  18  is angled toward footrest  22  by approximately 30-50 degrees from the horizontal plane of floor  24 . 
     In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, base  12  of foot examination device  10  is supported on the floor  24 . Foot examination device  10  may be controlled by a user by grasping handle  16  at the end of arm  14  to allow the user to position mirror  18  and support their foot  26  and leg  28  on footrest  22 . Mirror  18  is angled toward footrest  22  to allow a person to look down along lines of sight  30  to see the reflection of the bottom of their foot  32  resting on footrest  22 . Alternatively, mirror  18  may be pivotally mounted to support arm  20  to allow the user to move mirror  18  to better view the bottom of their foot  32 . 
     The shape of footrest  22  allows for the foot  26  to be supported while still allowing adequate visualization of the bottom of the foot  32  through the open area of the U. 
     The footrest  22  may be covered with rubber, Spenco® or other similar material to allow the foot  26  to be placed on the footrest  22  securely without sliding off. Mirror  18  may be pivotally mounted to support arm  20  to allow adjustment of the mirror  18  to better view the bottom  32  of foot  26 . 
     The front  34  and back  36  bottom portions of base  12  may be beveled as shown in FIG. 2, to provide a support surface when foot examination device  10  is tilted toward the user as necessary during use. Beveled portions  34  and  36  of base  12 , and the bottom of base  12  may include a non-slip surface such as rubber to help prevent device  10  from slipping during use. Base  12 , arm  14 , handle  16 , mirror support arm  20  and footrest  22  may be made from molded or injected plastic. Device  10  is designed such that it may be turned around and used for both the right and left foot. 
     With the user sitting in a regular kitchen-type chair in a room with good lighting, device  10  is placed by the user to the outside of the foot that is going to be examined first. Using handle  16 , the person can position device  10  to a place where they may view mirror  18 . With device  10  on the right side to examine the right foot, the person places their bare foot onto footrest  22  while holding and supporting device  10  by handle  16  with their right hand. 
     The foot should be placed angled on its side so that the bottom of the foot is facing mirror  18 . The person may then look down along the lines of sight  30  into the magnifying mirror  18  and examine the bottom of their foot for lesions, red marks, scrapes, sores, etc. A person may move the device  10  or their foot forwards or backwards to assure that the entire plantar aspect of the foot is examined. The person should then remove their right foot, turn device  10  around with the handle  16  and position device  10  on their left side to examine their left foot in the same manner. 
     The above-mentioned activity should become the daily routine of all diabetic patients, especially those with peripheral neuropathy and/or poor vascular manifestations. Routine examination of the bottom of the foot with device  10  described above is important in the prevention of serious ulcers which create multiple problems for people with diabetes. Device  10  incorporates the use of a magnifying mirror  18  which helps people who have decreased vision, due to diabetes examine their feet, as well as to make identification of small lesions more likely. 
     The device  10  has a long arm  14  extending to handle  16  that can be held in the user &#39;s hand to give him or her better control of device  10  which is supported by floor  24 , increasing the ease of use for those people who have extensive arthritic or back problems. Footrest  22  supports the foot being examined allowing the person to examine the foot thoroughly. Support of the foot is important as an unsupported foot may shake or move too much or the person may fatigue quickly which decreases the ability to accurately examine the foot. 
     It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto, except in so far as such limitations are included in the following claims.