Patent ID: 7668450

Claim:
An endoscope comprising: a proximal end, a distal end for insertion into a body to be viewed, a light source unit including an array of light-emitting elements integrated within the proximal end of the endoscope wherein the array includes a plurality of separately controlled groups of one or more light emitting elements, and a light guide to collect light emitted from the light-emitting elements and to couple the light into an optical pathway within the endoscope, wherein the optical pathway directs the light to a plurality of sections of the distal end of the endoscope, and wherein the light guide includes a plurality of groups of two or more fiber optic cables corresponding to the plurality of separately controlled groups of light-emitting elements to direct the light from each separately controlled group of light-emitting elements to a distinct section of the distal end of the endoscope to control light output into different regions of a surgical site.