LED Light Source Imaging for Medical Optical Observation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting devices for medical-optical observation devices, such as surgical microscopes, face challenges in replacing traditional light sources like optical fibers or incandescent lamps with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) without compromising lighting quality or requiring significant adaptations to the optics, which often results in bulkier devices and reduced illumination due to differing emission characteristics.
Innovation Solution
The use of imaging optics to generate a magnified image of the light-emitting diode with a defined scale between 1.5x and 2.5x, allowing the LED's image to be optimally adapted to the existing illumination optics, thereby maintaining lighting quality and reducing the beam angle to match that of optical fibers, thus enabling seamless integration without adapting the lighting device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If a light-emitting diode (LED) is used as the primary light source, then the service life and energy efficiency are improved, but the beam angle is significantly larger than traditional optical fiber sources, requiring larger numerical aperture optics that increase device size and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
An imaging optical system acts as an intermediary between the LED light source and the illumination optics. This mediator transforms the LED's large beam angle into a smaller effective beam angle by creating a magnified image, allowing compatibility with existing illumination optics without requiring larger numerical aperture components.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging optical system changes the beam angle parameter of the LED light source. By magnifying the LED image, the effective beam angle is reduced from the LED's native large angle to a smaller angle that matches the acceptance angle of the illumination optics, thereby avoiding the need for larger optical components.
2Illumination intensity
If the LED's large beam angle is accommodated by designing illumination optics with larger numerical entrance aperture, then the illumination quality is maintained, but the diameter of optical components increases requiring more installation space
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging optical system serves as a mediator that transforms the LED's emission characteristics before the light enters the illumination optics. This allows the use of standard-sized optical components with their existing numerical apertures, avoiding the need to design and manufacture larger optical components.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of directly using the LED's light output, the system creates a magnified image (copy) of the LED that has the desired beam angle characteristics. This optical copy allows the illumination optics to receive light in the same manner as traditional fiber-optic sources, maintaining compatibility with existing component sizes.
3Illumination intensity
If traditional light sources like optical fibers or incandescent lamps are used, then the illumination quality is maintained, but the service life is shorter and energy efficiency is lower compared to LEDs
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging optical system enables the use of LED light sources by mediating between the LED's emission characteristics and the illumination optics' requirements. This allows the system to benefit from LED advantages (longer service life, higher energy efficiency) while maintaining illumination quality comparable to traditional sources.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a more homogeneous and efficient light propagation with LEDs, offering a price advantage and longer service life compared to halogen or xenon lamps, while maintaining the same level of illumination and reducing the complexity of the lighting system.
Implementation Method 1
an imaging optical system which produces an image, in particular a real image, of the at least one luminescent emitter with a defined magnification
Implementation Method 2
at least one luminescent emitter, which is a light-emitting diode, as the primary light source
Data Source
Figure 1~3
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Figure 5
AI summary
A light source arrangement (101) includes an illumination device having illumination light source (7) and illumination optical unit for illuminating an observation object with illumination light from the illumination light source. At least one luminescence emitter (3) is used as primary light source. An imaging optical unit (105) generates an image of at least one luminescence emitter with defined magnification scale. The image forms the illumination light source for the illumination device.