Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

U.S. Philips Corporation

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corporation

Tpo Displays Corporation

Samsung Lcd Netherlands R&d Center B.v.

Steven Charles Deane

Olaf Thomas Johan Antonie Vermeulen

Johannes Hendrikus Maria Spruit

Ian D French

Vincent Jeanne

David Andrew Fish

Alan James Davie

Mark Thomas Johnson

Martin John Edwards

Jason Roderick Hector

Adrianus Wilhelmus Dionisius Maria Van Den Bijgaart

Edgar Martinus Van Gool

Stephen J Battersby

Okke Ouweltjes

Pieter J Van Der Zaag

Yekaterina Borisenko

Brian P McGarvey

Lucas Petrus Henricus Scheffers

John M Shannon

Alan G Knapp

Menno Willem Jose Prins

Petrus Theodorus Jutte

Steven Ernest Franklin

Amir Hussein Rmaile

Michael J Trainor

Neil C Bird

Hidetoshi Watanabe

Cristian Nicolae Presura

Gerrit Oversluizen

Cornelis Van Berkel

Valentina Lavezzo

Paul Richard Simons

Toon Hardeman

Gregory Russ Goddard

John R Hughes

Felipe Maia Masculo

Iain M Hunter

Carl Glasse

Cees Van Berkel

Marinus Karel Johannes De Jager

Aaldert Geert Zijlstra

Rim Helaoui

Jeffrey Alan Chapman

Jan Hendrik Poesse

Aleksandro Grabulov

Catherine J Curling

Hermann Christian Reccius

Estelle Julie Dorothée Bernard-fichet

Peter Douglas Fairly

Takashi Ohmoto

Lucas Scheffers

Thomas C Geuns

Pieter Horstman

A system () for detecting tissue inflammation, gingivitis specifically, including a light emitter () configured to emit light at a tissue region within a user's mouth; at least four wavelength-sensitive photodetectors (, and) configured to detect optical signals diffusely reflected through the tissue region, each of the at least four wavelength-sensitive photodetectors comprising a filter (BPF, BPF, BPF, and BPF) and a photodiode (D, D, D, and D), where the photodiodes are stacked on top of each other to generate current differential signals for amplifiers corresponding with the photodiodes, wherein the generation of the current differential signals removes an unwanted component from the optical signals prior to amplification; and an inflammation detection unit () configured to receive outputs from the corresponding amplifiers and detect inflammation at the tissue region.

Large dynamic range detector for gingivitis detection

An optical analysis of saliva or a fluid-saliva mix obtained during or after an oral care action is performed in order to check whether the saliva or fluid-saliva mix contains blood, which allows for determining whether or not a person may suffer from gingivitis or another condition affecting gum health. In particular, light received from a representative sample () containing saliva is detected and analyzed. The analysis involves determination of measurement values of light received by a light-receiving unit () for one or more main wavelengths of the light and one or more auxiliary wavelengths of the light. Advantageously, the main wavelength(s) is/are associated with high hemoglobin absorption and the auxiliary wavelength(s) is/are associated with low hemoglobin absorption. A measurement value at an auxiliary wavelength is used for correcting a measurement value at as main wavelength for background influences.

System and method for providing an indication of a person's gum health

A method () for localizing inflammation within a user's mouth using an oral care device (), comprising the steps of: (i) emitting () light by one or more light emitters () of the oral care device; (ii) detecting (), by a light detector () of the oral care device, reflectance from a surface at each of a plurality of locations within the user's mouth to generate reflectance data for each of the plurality of locations; (iii) determining (), by the controller, for the plurality of locations, whether gingiva at that location is inflamed; and (iv) providing (), via a user interface () of the oral care device, information to the user regarding the inflamed location or locations.

Method and system to measure localized inflammation using an oral care device

A system () for detecting tissue inflammation, and gingivitis specifically, including a light emitter (); a diffuse reflective spectroscopy probe () having a source-detector distance between 300 μm-2000 μm; and a plurality of detectors () configured to detect: a first wavelength that is less than 615 nm and having a first bandwidth; and second and third wavelengths that are equal to or greater than 615 nm and have second and third bandwidths, respectively, wherein the second or third bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

Wavelength and bandwidth selection for diffuse reflective spectroscopy based gingivitis detection

A system () for detecting tissue inflammation, and gingivitis specifically, including a light emitter () configured to emit light at a tissue region () within a user's mouth; a light detector () configured to detect optical signals diffusely reflected through the tissue region over a period of time; a controller () configured to: determine a slope signal (Q) based on at least two signals (R(λ), R(λ)) from the optical signals, the at least two signals including at least one signal from a hemoglobin-dominated wavelength range; determine one or more characteristics of the slope signal; and select a best measurement signal based on the one or more characteristics of the slope signal. The system further includes a user interface () configured to provide information regarding a position of a probe for accurate detection of tissue inflammation based on the one or more characteristics of the slope signal.

System and method for measurement selection and probe guiding in a gingivitis detector

The invention discloses an oral care device () comprising a head portion () having a protuberance () for engaging an interproximal region within an oral cavity. The oral care device () also comprises at least one sensor () for acquiring motion data for the oral care device, and a processor (). The processor is configured to determine when the protuberance of the head portion engages an interproximal region in the oral cavity; and determine, based on motion data acquired by the at least one sensor as the protuberance moves between interproximal regions, a position of the head portion of the oral care device in the oral cavity. An oral care system and a method of determining a position of an oral care device in an oral cavity are also disclosed.

Determining a position of an oral care device

For localizing gingival inflammation within a user's mouth the following steps are carried out using an oral care device (): (i) sequentially emitting () light by a plurality of light sources () in a first sequential pattern, wherein at least some of the plurality of light sources are configured to emit light of different wavelengths; (ii) sequentially emitting () light in a second sequential pattern which is the reverse of the first sequential pattern; (iii) obtaining (), by a light detector (), reflectance measurements to generate first reflectance data from light emitted in the first sequential pattern, and to generate second reflectance data from light emitted in the second sequential pattern; (iv) averaging (), by a controller (), first reflectance data and second reflectance data for each wavelength to generate averaged reflectance data; and (v) determining (), using the averaged reflectance data, whether gingiva at the location is inflamed.

Method and system for improved measurement of localized oral inflammation using centroid sampling

A method () for detecting one or more caries using an imaging device (), the method including the steps of: (i) directing () light from a first light source () toward a tooth (); (ii) measuring (), with an optical sensor (), transmission of light from the first light source through the tooth; (iii) directing () light from a second light source () toward the tooth, wherein the second light source directs light at the tooth at a different angle relative to the first light source; (iv) measuring (), with the optical sensor, reflectance from the tooth of light from the second light source; (v) comparing () the measured transmission to the measured reflectance; and (vi) determining (), based at least in part on said comparison, whether a caries is present in the tooth.

Method and apparatus for early caries detection

A method for localizing gingival inflammation using an oral care device, comprising: (i) simultaneously emitting () light by a plurality of light sources () of the oral care device, wherein at least some of the plurality of light sources emit light of different wavelengths to result in a plurality of emitted light wavelengths, wherein each of the different wavelengths is modulated with a distinct code; (ii) obtaining (), by a light detector () of the oral care device, reflectance measurements from a location within the user's mouth to generate reflectance data for the location; (iii) demodulating (), by a controller () of the oral care device, the obtained reflectance data; and (iv) determining (), by the controller using the demodulated reflectance data, whether gingiva at the location is inflamed.

Method and system for improved measurement of localized oral inflammation using modulated light

A method for localizing gingival inflammation using an oral care device, comprising: emitting () light by one or more light emitters () of the oral care device; obtaining (), at a first rate by one or more light detectors (), reflectance measurements for a plurality of locations to generate first reflectance data; determining (), by a controller () of the oral care device using the first reflectance data, whether the location comprises gingiva; obtaining (), at a second rate by the one or more light detectors, reflectance measurements for each location determined to comprise gingiva to generate gingiva reflectance data, wherein the second rate is faster than the first rate; and determining (), by the controller using the gingiva reflectance data, whether gingiva at that location is inflamed.

Method and system for improved motion robustness during measurement of localized oral inflammation

A method () for localizing gingival inflammation using an oral care device (), the method comprising: (i) emitting () light at a first intensity by a light emitter (); (ii) obtaining () first reflectance measurements reflectance data; (iii) determining (), by a controller () from the first reflectance data, whether the location comprises gingiva; (iv) automatically adjusting (), based at least in part on the first reflectance data, the intensity of a light emitter to a second intensity different from the first intensity, and/or automatically adjusting () a gain of a light detector; (v) obtaining () a second plurality of reflectance measurements by the light detector of the oral care device for at least some of the locations; and (vi) determining (), using the second plurality of reflectance measurements, whether gingiva at the location is inflamed.

Method and system for automatic brightness/gain control while measuring localized oral inflammation

A brush head assembly comprising: a hard platen; a plurality of bristle tufts, each of which comprises a plurality of bristle strands, each bristle tuft having a proximal end and a free end; and a flexible matrix at least partially comprised of a shear-thickening material for coupling the plurality of bristle tufts to the hard platen, wherein the flexible matrix is arranged such that there is shear-thickening material between the proximal ends of the plurality of bristle tufts and the hard platen. A method of manufacturing the brush head assembly for use with a personal care appliance.

Brush head assembly

A system and method of determining and notifying a user when to replace a worn dental cleaning head (104), comprises receiving, from a sensor (106), at least one measured value; calculating, using the measured value, a burn metric of the dental cleaning head; modeling, using the burn metric, an estimated lifetime of the dental cleaning head; determining, from the lifetime model, whether the dental cleaning head is in need of replacement; and notifying the user upon determining that the dental cleaning head is in need of replacement.

System and method for determining and notifying a user when to replace a dental cleaning head

An oral care device () assesses a health parameter of gingival tissue of a user by means of a force-generating module () to apply a momentary force to the gingival tissue by applying a burst of compressed air or a burst of liquid to the gingival tissue, a sensor () to obtain a plurality of optical signals from the gingival tissue over time after the momentary force has been applied, a controller () to quantify, based at least in part on an analysis of the plurality of optical signals, the health parameter (e.g. inflammation of the gingival tissue), wherein the health parameter is based at least in part on an amount of time the gingival tissue takes to recover to the application of force; and a feedback module () to provide information to the user regarding the quantified health parameter.

Measuring health parameter using tissue recovery time

A method () for modifying a user's oral care program. The method includes the steps of: (i) providing () a network () comprising a first personal care device () in communication with a second personal care device (); (ii) cleaning () at least a portion of the oral cavity using the first personal care device; (iii) obtaining (), while cleaning with the first personal care device, sensor data for the at least a portion of the oral cavity; (iv) communicating () the obtained sensor data to the second personal care device; and (v) modifying (), based on the communicated sensor data, a function of the second personal care device.

Network for collaborating personal care devices

Growing community of inventors

Redhill, United Kingdom

Steven Charles Deane