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In a method of calibrating a light delivery device (10) having a solid state light source (12), for example comprising LEDs of an LED array, and an intensity control unit (16) comprising LED array driver and a dimmer module for generating a control signal for controlling at least the intensity of th

In a method of calibrating a light delivery device (10) having a solid state light source (12), for example comprising LEDs of an LED array, and an intensity control unit (16) comprising LED array driver and a dimmer module for generating a control signal for controlling at least the intensity of the light source, the light source is temporarily connected by a light guide (24; 24, 26) to a radiometer (38) for detecting irradiance of the delivered light. The light delivery device has a memory (30) for storing control signal parameters and associated radiance levels. The light delivery device is calibrated by adjusting the control signal parameters, e.g. a PWM duty cycle of a control signal to each of a series of predetermined settings, obtaining from the radiometer a corresponding series of delivered light irradiance levels measured thereby, storing the irradiance levels and associated control signal parameters in memory, and applying a best fit algorithm to the irradiance measurements and control signal parameters. Thereafter, a desired irradiate level can be set by selecting the best fit control signal parameters, such as duty cycle of a PWM control or other parameters. Output intensity levels may be measured at the same time as the irradiance levels and used to compensate for light source output level changes when setting a desired irradiance level.

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The invention claimed is: 1. A method of setting an output level of a light delivery device (10) that comprises solid state light-emitting means (12), light output means (24; 24, 26) for delivering emitted light to a site to be irradiated, intensity control means (16) for generating a control signa

The invention claimed is: 1. A method of setting an output level of a light delivery device (10) that comprises solid state light-emitting means (12), light output means (24; 24, 26) for delivering emitted light to a site to be irradiated, intensity control means (16) for generating a control signal for adjusting at least the intensity of the delivered light, and a memory unit (30) for storing data including parameters indicative of intensity/power level, the light output means (24;24, 26) being temporarily connected to a separate radiometer (38) having means for detecting power levels of the delivered light, the light delivery device (10) and the radiometer (38) having respective control means (28, 48) and data communications means (34, 36, 54, 56) for communicating data therebetween, the method comprising a calibration sequence comprising the steps of: (i) with the light output means (24; 24, 26) coupled to the radiometer (38), establishing data communications between the control means (48) of the radiometer (38) and the control means (28) of the light delivery device (10); at the light delivery device (10): (ii) adjusting the intensity control means (16) successively to set parameters of the control signal corresponding to each of a series of predetermined intensity levels; at the radiometer (38): (iii) measuring a series of actual output radiance levels delivered by the light output means (24; 24, 26), each for a respective one of said predetermined intensity levels; (iv) transmitting the actual output irradiance levels to the light delivery device (10); at the light delivery device (10): (v) associating each of the actual output irradiance level measurements with the corresponding control signal parameters in said memory unit. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the solid state light-emitting means (12) comprises LEDs of at least one LED array, and the intensity control means (16) comprises an LED array driver and a dimmer control module for generating a control signal having control signal parameters for adjusting at least the intensity of the delivered light, and wherein the step of adjusting the intensity control means (16) successively to each of a series of predetermined intensity levels comprises setting parameters of the control signal generated by the dimmer control module of the intensity control means (16) successively to each of a series of different control signal parameters associated with at least the intensity of the delivered light. 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the dimmer module generates a pulse width modulated control signal and the adjusting of the intensity control means (16) successively to each of a series of predetermined intensity levels comprises selecting a duty cycle of the control signal associated with a predetermined intensity level. 4. A method according to claim 2, comprising generating a control signal for selectively controlling individual LEDs and groups of LEDs of each of a plurality of LED arrays. 5. A method according to claim 2, comprising setting the control signal parameters of a control signal for a respective one of a plurality of LED arrays in a group to set the intensity level of each LED array in the group to the same level. 6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of; (vi) applying a best fit algorithm to the actual irradiance level measurements and corresponding predetermined control signal parameters and using the best fit parameters to select subsequent desired output irradiance levels. 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein, in a subsequent step of setting the light delivery device (10) to deliver a desired output irradiance level, the intensity level of light downstream of the output of the intensity control means (16) is measured, compared with a reference, and the intensity control means (16) adjusted to set control signal parameters to correct for any differences between the measured intensity level and the reference. 8. A method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of; obtaining for each of said series of predetermined control signal parameters associated with an intensity level of the solid state light emitting means, a corresponding series of measurements of intensity level of light downstream of the output of the intensity control means (16), applying a best fit algorithm to the actual irradiance level measurements and corresponding parameters; applying a best fit algorithm to the actual intensity level measurements and said actual irradiance level measurements; in a subsequent intensity level setting step, setting the control signal parameters to provide a desired intensity level, measuring the said actual intensity level again, comparing the measured-again intensity level with the intensity level for that desired irradiance level according to the best fit algorithm, and adjusting the intensity control means (16) to set control signal parameters to correct for any differences. 9. A method according to claim 1, wherein when establishing communications, the radiometer (38) acquires from the light delivery device (10) a unique identifier, such as its serial number, and stores the irradiance measurements in association with said unique identifier in a memory unit (50). 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein each of the irradiance measurements is stored in association with temporal information identifying when such measurement was made. 11. A method according to claim 1, the light output moans comprising a light guide (26) coupled to an optical output port (24) of the light delivery dice (10), the method further comprising the step of determining the dimensions of the light guide (26) and using the measured power and the effective cross-sectional area, derived from the dimensions, to compute the irradiance of the delivered light. 12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the computation of the irradiance is performed at the radiometer (38). 13. A method according to claim 11, wherein the radiometer (38) stores effective dimensions of a plurality of different types of light delivery means, the light delivery means of a particular type having the same effective cross-sectional area, and being associated with an indicator unique to that type, and the step of determining the active cross-sectional area includes the steps of detecting a said unique indicator of said light delivery means connected to the optical input port, using the detected indicator to retrieve the effective dimensions for that light delivery means from storage and calculating the cross-sectional area from that effective dimensions. 14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the unique indicator is colour of a colour-coded adapter (42) specific to the type of light delivery means (26) and the step of detecting said unique indicator includes the step of determining the colour of the colour-coded adapter (40) connecting the light delivery means (26) to the optical input port (40). 15. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of repeating the calibration sequence for each of a plurality of other similar light delivery devices (10) and setting the plurality of other similar light delivery devices to the same output level by coupling the radiometer (38) to each of the light delivery devices (10) in turn, outputting from the radiometer (38) to the control means (28) of the light delivery device (10) a desired irradiance value previously stored in the radiometer (38); and storing the light irradiance value in the memory (30) of the light delivery device (10), each light delivery device (10) using the stored irradiance value for subsequent operation. 16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the desired irradiance is obtained by the prior step of measuring an actual irradiance level outputted by one of the light delivery devices, or a similar light delivery device, adjusting the light delivery device until the actual irradiance level is acceptable, and storing the accepted irradiance level as said desired irradiance level for supplying to the other light delivery devices. 17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data communications link is established by way of wireless input/output ports of the light delivery device (10) and radiometer (38), respectively. 18. A method of setting respective output light irradiance levels of a plurality of light delivery devices to the same irradiance level using the same radiometer, each light delivery device comprising solid state light-emitting means, output means for supplying the emitted light to a site to be irradiated, intensity control means (16) generating a control signal for adjusting at least the intensity of the delivered light, a memory unit for storing parameters indicative of intensity levels and control means for controlling the intensity control means, the radiometer having data storage means for storing data including light irradiance values, the radiometer and light delivery devices having data communications means for communicating data therebetween, the method comprising the steps of: (i) adjusting a first light delivery device to set parameters of the control signal to deliver a desired irradiance level at its output means; (ii) temporarily coupling the radiometer to the output means of the first light delivery device and measuring said desired irradiance level; (iii) storing said desired irradiance level in the memory of the radiometer; (iv) temporarily coupling the radiometer to the output means of at least a second such light delivery device, and transmitting said desired irradiance level to said second delivery device via said data communications means; and (v) storing the light irradiance value in the memory of the second light delivery device for future use in normal operation. 19. A method according to claim 17, further comprising the prior step of calibrating each of the light delivery devices with the radiometer (38) so that irradiance levels correspond to control signal parameters. 20. A method according to claim 18, wherein the data communications link is established by way of wireless input/output ports of each light delivery device and the radiometer (38), respectively. 21. A method of setting respective output light irradiance levels of a plurality of light delivery devices (10) to the same irradiance level using the same radiometer (38), each light delivery device (10) comprising light-emitting means (12), output means (24; 24, 26) for supplying the emitted light to a site to be irradiated, intensity control means (16) generating a control signal having control signal parameters for adjusting the irradiance of the delivered light, a memory unit for storing irradiance levels, and control means (28) for controlling the intensity control means (16), the radiometer (38) having data storage means (50) for storing data including light irradiance values, the method comprising the steps of: temporarily coupling the radiometer (38) to the output means of each light delivery device in turn, and outputting to each said light delivery device a control signal having parameters selected to provide a desired irradiance level previously stored in the memory of the radiometer (38); and storing the light irradiance value in the memory unit of each said light delivery device (30) for future use in normal operation. 22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the radiometer is coupled to the light delivery device by means of a wireless data communications link. 23. A radiometer (38) for use in setting output light delivered by at least one light delivery device (10) to a desired light irradiance level, said at least one light delivery device comprising light emitting means (12), light output means (24; 24, 26) for supplying the emitted light to a site to be irradiated, intensity control means (16) for generating a control signal for adjusting the irradiance of the delivered light, a memory unit for storing irradiance levels, and data communications means (28, 34, 36), the radiometer (38) comprising: means for measuring an irradiance level of light delivered by said light output means of said light delivery device; data communications means (48, 54, 56) complementary to the data communications means (28, 34, 36) of the light delivery device; and control means (48) for establishing data communications with a light delivery device (10) coupled hereto and for outputting to said light delivery device (10) a control signal having signal parameters for said desired light irradiance value retrieved from said memory via the data communications means. 24. A radiometer according to claim 21, fiber comprising storage means (50) for storing a plurality of said desired irradiance values in association with a unique identifier, for example serial number, of a said light delivery device (10), and wherein the control means is operable to obtain said unique identifier from said light delivery device via said data communications link. 25. A radiometer according to claim 23, further comprising data communication means for communication stored data to an external computer. 26. A radiometer according to claim 23, wherein the data communications means is wireless. 27. A radiometer according to claim 23, further comprising means for detecting an identifier of a light output means connected thereto, said identifier indicating that the light output means has a particular dimension, the control means being operable to use the identifier to determine the cross-sectional area and use the cross-sectional area and measured power to compute the irradiance of the delivered light. 28. A radiometer according to claim 27, wherein the identifier is the colour of a colour-coded adapter for connecting the light output means to the radiometer, and the detecting means is configured to detect the colour of the adapter and supply colour coordinates to the control unit, the memory unit storing colours and corresponding dimensions or areas of the light output means. 29. A radiometer according to claim 28, wherein the detecting means comprises a colorimeter. 30. A light delivery device comprising solid state light-emitting means, light output means for delivering the emitted light to a site to be irradiated, intensity control means (16) comprising a dimmer control system for adjusting irradiance of delivered light; and control means for controlling the intensity control means and for communicating with an external radiometer, the control means being operable to adjust the intensity, successively, to a plurality of intensity levels and, for each intensity level, communicate with the radiometer to obtain from the radiometer a corresponding series of actual irradiance levels measured by the radiometer and store each irradiance value in a memory unit in association with the corresponding intensity level. 31. A light delivery device according to claim 30, wherein the solid state light emitting means comprises LEDs of an LED array, and the intensity control means (16) comprises an LED array driver, and dinner control module (18) for generating a control signal for having parameters selected to set the intensity level of the optical output of the LED array, the stored parameters associated with each of a series of intensity levels. 32. A light delivery device according to claim 31, wherein the control means is operable to apply a best fit algorithm to the actual irradiance level measurements and corresponding aperture settings and use the best fit aperture settings to select subsequent desired output irradiance levels. 33. A light delivery device according to claim 31, further comprising means for measuring the intensity level of light downstream of the output of the intensity control means (16), the control means being operable to associate a series of intensity measurements with said series of irradiance measurements and, when subsequently setting the intensity of light outputted by the light delivery device (10) to deliver a desired output irradiance level, set the intensity to an initial setting corresponding to the desired irradiance level, measure the actual intensity level and compare such actual intensity level with the associated intensity level and adjust the intensity control means (16) to correct for any differences between the measured actual intensity level and the associated intensity level. 34. A light delivery device according to claim 33, further comprising means for measuring the intensity level of light downstream of the output of the intensity control means (16), the control means being operable to associate a series of intensity measurements with said series of irradiance measurements and perform a best fit algorithm to associate intensity measurements with irradiance measurements and, when subsequently setting the intensity control means of the light delivery device (10) to deliver a desired output irradiance level, set the intensity to an initial setting corresponding to the desired irradiance level, measure the actual intensity level and compare such a intensity level with the associated intensity level and adjust the intensity control means (16) to correct for any differences between the measured actual intensity level and the associated intensity level. 35. A light delivery device according to claim 31, wherein the dimmer module (18) is adjustable between a completely switched off state and a variety of on states, the control means (28) being operable to control the PWM signal Generator means (18) from a switched off state to a selected one of the on states, and back to the switch off state to determine exposure period. 36. A light delivery device according to claim 31, wherein the control means further comprises a shutter. 37. A light delivery device comprising solid state light-emitting means (12), light output means (24; 24, 26) for delivering the emitted light to a site to be irradiated, intensity control means (16) comprising a device driver and a dimmer module for generating a control signal for the solid state light emitting means for adjusting irradiance of delivered light, detection means for detecting intensity of light downstream of the output of the intensity control means and control means (28) for controlling the intensity control means (16), wherein the control means (28) is operable to: monitor the detection means and determine, for each of series of predetermined intensity level settings, a corresponding series of measurements of intensity level of light downstream of the output of the intensity control means (16), apply a best fit algorithm to the actual intensity level measurements and said intensity level setting; and in a subsequent intensity level setting step, adjust the intensity level to the desired setting, measure the said intensity level again, compare the measured-again intensity level with the intensity level for that intensity level setting according to the best fit algorithm, and adjust the intensity control means (16) to correct for any differences.