Colgate-Palmolive Company
Ultrasonic system and method for detecting a biofilm on a tooth

Abstract:

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.