A motion tracking element for an oral hygiene element such as a toothbrush. The motion tracking element may be detachably coupled to the oral hygiene element. The motion tracking element may include a body having an outer surface, a portion of the outer surface having a pattern that includes a plurality of indicators with a non-circular shape. The indicators may be flush with and form part of the outer surface. A plurality of visual markers may be located on the outer surface, each of the visual markers having a circular shape. The plurality of visual markers may be formed integrally with the body. A method for estimating a pose of an oral hygiene device may be achieved using the motion tracking element.

In some embodiments, usage of a personal care device in compliance with a recommended use is improved. A usage monitor computing device may detect and store records of use of the personal care device. The usage monitor computing device may transmit the records of use to a monitoring server device via a network. The usage monitor computing device may determine whether the records of use indicate that the personal care device has been used as directed by the recommendations, and if so, may determine whether one or more rewards for use should be provided to the user. The usage monitor computing device may receive notifications of the rewards, and may present notifications of the rewards to the user.

A powered toothbrush includes a handle, a power source disposed in the handle, a head including a cavity disposed at a distal end of the handle, an electrically conducting element disposed in the cavity and electrically connected to the power source, and a movable cleaning element connected to the head and movable relative to the cavity. The movable cleaning element includes a tooth cleaning support member, a tooth cleaning element mounted on the support member, and a ferromagnetic member. Application of an electrical current to the electrically conducting element generates a magnetic field at the electrically conducting element. The magnetic field selectively at least one of attracts and repels the ferromagnetic member to move the movable cleaning element relative to the electrically conducting element.

In one embodiment, the invention can be an oral care system that includes a toothbrush; a user interface configured to receive a brushing goal from a user; and a programmable processor operably coupled to the user interface. The programmable processor can be configured to receive brushing goal data indicative of the brushing goal received by the user interface; and determine, based at least in part on the brushing goal data, at least one of a suggested brushing routine and a brushing evaluation for a brushing session.

An ultrasonic system may include: an oral care device including: a head; a plurality of teeth cleaning elements extending from a first side of the head; and an ultrasound module including an ultrasound transceiver positioned in the head, the ultrasound transceiver configured to produce an ultrasound signal on the first side of the head and to generate a detection signal from a reflected ultrasound signal; and a processing module operably coupled to the ultrasound module to receive the detection signal; wherein the processing module includes a programmable processor configured to process the detection signal non-linearly with respect to time by first identifying a first reflection representing a surface of a tooth and then determining whether a second reflection peak is present in the detection signal at a time prior to the first reflection peak, the second reflection peak representing a biofilm on the surface of the tooth.

A brushing tracker configured to be mounted to a toothbrush has a motion sensor and a transceiver that collect and output raw motion data. The raw motion data is received by a relay and forwarded to a cloud-based remote processing system that processes the raw motion data to determine brushing adequacy based on predetermined criteria. The motion sensor and transceiver are disposed in a flexible case. An attachment band enables the brushing tracker to be affixed to a standard toothbrush for use and affixed to a different toothbrush when desired.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a method for providing a personal toothbrushing challenge via an application of an electronic device. A user interface displays to a user of an electronic device, via a user interface, challenge parameters for creating a personal toothbrushing challenge, the challenge parameters including a type of challenge and a challenge period. The user interface receives from the user a parameter selection for each of the challenge parameters, each combination of parameter selections having a corresponding brushing expectation and point value. The electronic device receives brushing data from a user toothbrush indicative of user brushing activity, and determines, based on the brushing data, whether the user satisfied the brushing expectation corresponding with the combination of parameter selections. Upon determining that the user satisfied the brushing expectation, the user interface displays that the corresponding point value has been awarded to the user.

An oral care implement including a handle and an oral care refill head. The handle has a gripping portion, an engagement component coupled to a distal end of the gripping portion, and a stem. The engagement component includes a plate portion and a first engagement feature. The stem extends through an opening in the engagement component and protrudes from the plate portion. The oral care refill head includes an oral care treatment portion and a sleeve portion. The sleeve portion has an inner surface that defines a sleeve cavity having a cavity axis and a second engagement feature. When the oral care refill head is detachably coupled to the handle, the first and second engagement features mate with one another to at least one of: (1) position the oral care refill head and the handle in an operational alignment; and (2) lock the oral care refill head to the handle.

A method for estimating a pose of an oral hygiene device including a pattern and a plurality of groups of visual markers relative to a location includes (i) receiving image data reproducible as an image of at least a portion of the oral hygiene device; (ii) analyzing the image data to identify a region of interest within the image; (iii) identifying, using at least one of the one or more processors, all candidate visual markers within the region of interest; (iv) obtaining a first proposed three-dimensional pose of the oral hygiene device; (v) validating the first proposed three-dimensional pose of the oral hygiene device; and (vi) obtaining a second proposed three-dimensional pose of the oral hygiene device based on the validated first proposed three-dimensional pose.

Systems, methods and articles of manufacture for affect a virtual world based n available electronic devices. A control node identifies electronic devices present within a physical environment. Embodiments detect a device type of a first electronic device and determine an API implemented by the first electronic device, based on the detected device type of the first electronic device. Electronic messages are transmitted to the first electronic device, via the one or more data communications networks. The electronic messages are formatted according to the determined API. One or more actions are determined for a first user for a first computer game, based on data received from the first electronic device via the one or more data communications networks, and a game state for the first computer game is updated, based on performance of the one or more actions.