Patent ID: 8029439

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: an endoscope including a first optical pathway through which a camera acquires image data of internal features of a body; and a light source unit including a thermally conductive substrate; an array of LEDs mounted on the substrate, to produce illumination through the endoscope for a camera; a heat sink thermally coupled to a second side of the substrate via a heat pipe, wherein the heat pipe is a hollow metal tube filled with a liquid; a light guide to collect light emitted from the LEDs and couple the light along a more confined angle than as produced by the light emitting elements; and an interface adapted to removably mount the light source unit on an external light port of the endoscope, wherein the interface couples the light from the light guide directly, without need for a cable, into a second optical pathway within the endoscope via the external light port, wherein the second optical pathway directs the light to an distal end of the endoscope, wherein the interface is adapted to mount the light source unit on external light ports of endoscopes of a variety of different sizes and manufacturers, and wherein the interface enables the endoscope to bear the weight of the removably mounted light source unit.