Method for determining movement patterns during a dental treatment

A method comprising:

• using a camera of a tablet PC or mobile phone to capture an image area containing (i) at least one body part selected from one or both pupils, the nose, eyebrows, eye hole, lips, ears, cheeks and/or chin of the person, as well as (ii) a toothbrush moving at least in an X-/Y-plane to treat surface parts of teeth of the person, thereby generating image data,
• wirelessly receiving sensor data from the toothbrush in the mobile phone or tablet PC, the sensor data containing rotational movements or acceleration of the toothbrush captured by an acceleration sensor or a rotation sensor, respectively, disposed in or on the toothbrush,
• processing the sensor data in a processor disposed in the tablet PC or mobile phone, thereby generating processed sensor data,
• using the processor of the mobile phone or the tablet PC to identify the toothbrush in the image data based upon the shape of the toothbrush and to separate toothbrush image data from said image data in such a way that movements of the toothbrush are analyzable based upon the separated toothbrush image data,
• using the processor to identify the at least one body part of the person in the image data and to separate body part image data from the remaining image parts of said image data,
• using the processor to determine a motion parameter of the toothbrush identified in the separated toothbrush image data with respect to the body part identified in the separated body part image data,
• comparing the processed sensor data and the motion parameter with movement pattern data or movement characteristics data stored in a database, thereby generating comparison data,
• determining correction parameters for adapting the movement of the toothbrush based on the comparison data,
• generating correction information based on the determined correction parameters, and
• displaying the correction information on a screen of the mobile phone or tablet PC.

A method for monitoring dental treatment movements of a person brushing teeth and for outputting correction parameters to modify the dental treatment movements, comprising:

• using an acceleration sensor and a rotation sensor that are a part of the toothbrush to detect movement pattern data, wherein the acceleration sensor and a rotation sensor sense rotational movements and acceleration of the toothbrush while the toothbrush is moving at least in an X-/Y-plane to treat surface parts of the teeth of the person, thereby generating motion sensor data, wherein the toothbrush comprises a brush head for contacting a tooth surface, a handle for holding the toothbrush, and at least one outputting device configured to visually and/or haptically output signals or commands,
• detecting a contact pressure between the brush head and the teeth using a pressure sensor associated with the toothbrush, thereby generating contact pressure data,
• wirelessly communicating the motion sensor data and the contact pressure data via a communication interface of the toothbrush to a mobile phone or tablet PC,
• processing the motion sensor data and the contact pressure data in a processor,
• comparing the processed sensor data with movement pattern data or movement characteristics data stored in a database, thereby generating comparison data,
• determining toothbrush movement correction parameters for adapting the movement of the toothbrush based on the comparison data,
• generating in real time a toothbrush movement correction guidance based on the determined toothbrush movement correction parameters,
• generating in real time a contact pressure guidance based upon the contact pressure data, and
• visually displaying (i) the toothbrush movement correction guidance and (ii) the contact pressure guidance on a screen of the mobile phone or tablet PC.