Oral care device with tooth mobility detection
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips N.V.
InventorsPriscilla BRANDAO SILVA, Lutz Christian GERHARDT, Mark Thomas JOHNSON, Gerben KOOIJMAN
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Abstract
The invention provides an oral care device having integrated means for detecting a level of tooth mobility. A sensor means is included which outputs a sensing signal indicative of force or pressure applied to, or motion of, cleaning elements of the device during a cleaning session. By processing a waveform of this signal to detect one or more signal characteristics, a measure indicative of a level or degree of tooth mobility can be derived.
Claims15
An oral care device comprising:
- a support body;
- a plurality of cleaning elements for mechanical engagement with oral surfaces, the cleaning elements protruding from a surface of the support body;
- a sensor means adapted to sense a measure indicative of a loading force or pressure applied to, or motion of, at least one of the cleaning elements;
- and
- a processing arrangement comprising one or more processors adapted to:
- receive a sensing signal from the sensor means corresponding to a period of mechanical engagement of the at least one cleaning element with at least one tooth during an oral cleaning session,
- process a waveform of the signal to extract one or more characteristics of the signal waveform for the time period,
- determine a measure indicative of a degree of tooth mobility for the at least one tooth, and
- generate a data signal indicative of the determined measure indicative of a degree of tooth mobility, for output from the device.
A device as claimed in claim wherein the oral care device is a toothbrush with a brush head coupled to a main body, wherein the main body forms a handle for the device, and wherein the support body is a platen of the brush head, and preferably wherein the cleaning elements (comprise bristles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.