In 1987, David Giuliani, an entrepreneur with a background in electrical engineering, met with University of Washington professors Drs. David Engel and Roy Martin. They formed a new company named GEMTech to promote a dental hygiene device using a piezoelectric multimorph transducer. After several years of research and creating prototypes, the Sonicare toothbrush was introduced in November 1992 at a periodontal convention in Florida. In 1995, GEMTech changed its name to Optiva Corporation. The electric toothbrush Sonicare is the Trademark product of the Optiva Corporation. In September 2000, Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care (DAP), a division of Royal Philips Electronics acquired Optiva Corporation. In January 2001, Optiva Corporation changed its name to Philips Oral Healthcare, Inc.
