Luminous roof for NICU incubators for regulating circadian rhythms in infants and for providing high visibility of infant anatomy for healthcare staff

A method of providing controllable lighting, the method comprising the steps of:

• positioning an illuminance blanket over a top surface of an incubator and emitting diffused light into the incubator from above;
• receiving, by a controller, an indication of a lighting task to be performed via the illuminance blanket, the illuminance blanket including a plurality of light sources attached to a sheet of flexible material, a transparent cover disposed over the sheet of flexible material, a transparent cushioning material positioned between the plurality of light sources and the
• transparent cover, and a diffusion material positioned between the plurality of light sources and
• the transparent cover such that the illuminance blanket is configured to emit diffused light;
• identifying, by the controller, a prescribed lighting characteristic associated with the indicated lighting task from among a plurality of prescribed lighting characteristics associated with a respective plurality of different lighting tasks;
• and
• controlling one or more of the plurality of light sources of the illuminance blanket to emit diffused light according to the identified prescribed lighting characteristic;
• and
• capturing, via a camera coupled to the sheet of flexible material in a vicinity of the plurality of light sources, one or more images of an object positioned within the incubator synchronously with the light emitted by the one or more of the plurality of light sources.

An illuminance blanket comprising:

• a flexible cover having a top layer and a bottom layer joined together at peripheral edges thereof and at a plurality of joints to form a plurality of internal compartments, each of the plurality of joints extending transverse to either a length or a width of the flexible cover;
• a plurality of light sources configured to emit diffused light integrated within the flexible cover, at least one of the plurality of light sources is positioned within each of the plurality of internal compartments;
• a camera integrated within one of the plurality of internal compartments of the flexible cover, the camera configured to capture one or more images of an object positioned within an incubator synchronously with the light emitted by the one or more of the plurality of light sources;
• wherein the bottom layer of the flexible cover comprises a plurality of apertures, the apertures configured for exposing the camera and the plurality of light sources;
• a controller coupled to the plurality of light sources, the controller configured to control one or more of the plurality of light sources according to one of a plurality of prescribed lighting
• characteristics associated with a respective plurality of different lighting tasks;
• the flexible cover is foldable along the plurality of joints such that the illuminance blanket is configured to be removably disposed on at least portions of a top surface and one or more side surfaces of the incubator such that the emitted diffused light is transmitted into the incubator.