Scene Adaptive Endoscopic Illuminator

A method of providing illumination for an endoscope, comprising:

• coupling first illumination light into a proximal end of a light guiding element for an endoscope centered along a first angle relative to the light guiding element;
• illuminating a central area of a field of view of the endoscope from a distal end of the light guiding element with the first illumination light;
• while coupling the first illumination light, coupling second illumination light into the light guiding element centered along a second angle substantially different from the first angle;
• illuminating a peripheral area of the field of view with the second illumination light;
• and
• adjusting an illumination level of the second illumination light relative to that of the first illumination light to improve evenness of illumination in the field of view.

An endoscopic imaging system comprising:

• an endoscope comprising a shaft, a light guide extending along at least a portion of the shaft to a distal end of the shaft, and a light input;
• a light source comprising:
• a first illumination element providing first illumination light into the light input, which is emitted by the light guide to illuminate a central area of a field of view of the endoscope;
• and
• a second illumination element providing second illumination to the light input and arranged relative to the first illumination element such that the second illumination enters the light input at a substantially different angle from the first illumination, which is emitted by the light guide to illuminate a peripheral area of the field of view, the second illumination element having an illumination level adjustable separately from that of the first illumination element;
• a controller coupled to the first and second illumination elements and operable to adjust at least one of the first and second illumination elements to improve the evenness of illumination over an endoscopic field of view.