Patent ID: 9326664
Filing Date: 2016-05-03
CPC Classification: A61B,G02B,H04N

Claim Text:
1. An endoscope apparatus comprising: an illuminating section capable of irradiating, as illumination light for illuminating a subject, at least light in a first wavelength band and light in a second wavelength band having a wavelength band different from the light in the first wavelength band; an image processing section for separating an image pickup signal generated in a first pixel that is provided in an endoscope for observing the subject and receives light in a predetermined wavelength band among lights from the subject on which the illumination light is irradiated and an image pickup signal generated in a second pixel that is provided in the endoscope and receives light in a wavelength band different from the light in the predetermined wavelength band among the lights from the subject into an image pickup signal corresponding to the first wavelength band and an image pickup signal corresponding to the second wavelength band; a switch that switches observation modes by switching the light emitted by the illuminating section; a control section that determines whether the image pickup signal generated in the first pixel and the image pickup signal generated in the second pixel can be separated into the image pickup signal corresponding to the first wavelength band and the image pickup signal corresponding to the second wavelength band based on information of the predetermined wavelength band corresponding to the first pixel provided in the endoscope, information of a wavelength band different from the predetermined wavelength band corresponding to the second pixel, information of the first wavelength band corresponding to the light in the first wavelength band irradiated by the illuminating section, information of the second wavelength band corresponding to the light in the second wavelength band irradiated by the illuminating section, when switching into an observation mode in which the light in the first wavelength band and the light in the second wavelength band are irradiated as the light irradiated by the illuminating section, by the switch; and an illumination control section that controls the illuminating section to simultaneously irradiates, when the control section determines that the image pickup signal generated in the first pixel and the image pickup signal generated in the second pixel can be separated into the image pickup signal corresponding to the light in the first wavelength band and the image pickup signal corresponding to the light in the second wavelength band, the light in the first wavelength band and the light in the second wavelength band and irradiates, in a time division manner, when the control section determines that the image pickup signals cannot be separated into the first image signal and the second image signal, the light in the first wavelength band and the light in the second wavelength band.