Abstract: An apparatus for illuminating a portion of a patient's body includes an enclosure having a generally smoothly curved shape, an internal light-scattering surface, and an opening. A light source provides light to a portion of the light-scattering surface within the enclosure so as to illuminate the surface via scattering of the light on the surface. An at least partially transparent member is positioned within the enclosure so that scattered light passes through it and through the opening.

Abstract: A light valve such as an active matrix LCD between crossed polarizers, utilizing, for instance, individual transistors to control each "pixel area" of the LCD and storage elements to store video signal data for each pixel, with optically shielded "dead spaces" between pixels to eliminate electric field cross-talk and non-information-bearing light bleed-through, is illuminated with a bright independent light source which creates a video image projected via specialized projection optics onto an internal or external screen without distortions, regardless of the angle of projection onto the screen. Use of heat sinks, IR reflective coatings, heat absorbing optics, optional fluid and a thermistor controlled pixel transistor bias voltage injection servo circuit stabilizes image performance, maintaining accurate color and contrast levels as the LCD changes temperature.