Patent ID: 9095250
Filing Date: 2015-08-04
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An endoscope apparatus comprising: a first illumination light source section which individually emits broadband light and narrowband light for acquiring a special light image as a first illumination light; a second illumination light source section which individually emits plural kinds of narrowband light having different emission wavelengths for acquiring the special light image as a second illumination light; a light source control section which individually switches the broadband light and the narrowband light emitted individually from the first illumination light source section as the first illumination light and the plural kinds of narrowband light emitted individually from the second illumination light source section as the second illumination light; an imaging element which individually receives return light from a subject, onto which at least two illumination lights from among the broadband light, the narrowband light and the plural kinds of narrowband light switched by the light source control section are individually irradiated, capturing an image for each imaging frame individually, and outputting an imaging signal of the image; a special light image processing section which acquires the special light image as well as biological information relating to form and/or function of a biological object serving as the subject from the imaging signal captured by the imaging element; and a controller which switches at least two diagnosis modes based on the biological information acquired by the special light image processing section, wherein in order to acquire the special light image for acquiring one of the biological information, the broadband light and the narrowband light emitted from the first illumination light source section and the plural kinds of narrowband light emitted from the second illumination light source section are individually switched by the light source control section in accordance with the diagnosis mode switched by the controller, and the number of imaging frames by the imaging element for acquiring the special light image is varied, and wherein said at least two diagnosis modes include a first diagnosis mode, and a second diagnosis mode in which a high-definition special light image having higher precision than the special light image acquired in the first diagnosis mode is acquired, wherein the first diagnosis mode is a frame rate preference mode in which the frame rate is given preference over of the special light image so that a low-definition special light image is acquired by reducing the number of imaging frames processed per unit time to a number of imaging frame that is smaller than in the second diagnosis mode and increasing the frame rate to a frame rate that is higher than in the second diagnosis mode in order to acquire a low-definition special light image for acquiring the one of the biological information, wherein the second diagnosis mode is a biological information preference mode in which a precision of the special light image for acquiring one of the biological information is given preference over the frame rate so that a high-definition special light image is acquired by increasing the number of imaging frames processed per unit time to a number of imaging frame that is greater than in the first diagnosis mode, and decreasing the frame rate to a frame rate that is smaller than in the first diagnosis mode, wherein in the first diagnosis mode; wherein in the second diagnosis mode; wherein in case of acquiring the special light image for the one of the biological information, the number of imaging frames in the first diagnosis mode is two and smaller than at least three of the number of imaging frames in the second diagnosis mode, and wherein the frame rate preference mode is a mode in which the subject is screened in a wide range by using the low-definition spatial light image in order to find a specific site of the subject of which the high-definition special light image needs to be obtained, and wherein the biological information preference mode is a mode in which the high-definition special light image of the specific site of the subject specified by screening in the frame rate preference mode is obtained, and the biological information of the specific site of the subject is acquired.