Light pipe illumination system and method

A handheld scanning system including an image sensor for imaging at least a portion of a subject, the system comprising:

• a dark field light pipe having an angled tip at a distal end;
• a bright field light pipe nested coaxially within the dark field light pipe, the bright field light pipe defining an inner lumen through which the image sensor views the subject;
• an outer light source in alignment with a proximal end of the dark field light pipe, the outer light source adapted to project a first beam of light into the dark field light pipe and through the dark field light pipe, the angled tip of the dark field light pipe capable of reflecting the first beam of light to provide a low-angle dark field illumination pattern on the subject;
• an inner light source in alignment with a proximal end of the bright field light pipe, the inner light source adapted to project a second beam of light into the bright field light pipe and through the bright field light pipe, the bright field light pipe including a distal portion adapted to provide a high-angle bright field illumination pattern on the subject;
• and
• a set of aiming light sources that each project an aiming dot at a predetermined point with respect to the subject to thereby assist aiming of the image sensor at the subject.