Patent ID: 8233149

Claim:
A biometric image pickup apparatus comprising: a light source section including a light source configured to receive a driving signal from a light source driving section, wherein the driving signal when received causes the light source to selectively switch between outputting a first light of a first wavelength region with a high transmittance through a living organism to image a vein pattern of the living organism and second light of a second wavelength region with a lower transmittance through the living organism than the first light of the first wavelength region to apply the first light of the first wavelength region and the second light of the second wavelength region to the living organism, wherein the light source section further includes a liquid crystal device selectively switchable between transmission and blocking of light from the light source; an image pickup lens section configured to condense transmitted light from the living organism; an image pickup device configured to obtain first image pickup data of the living organism on the basis of the light of the first wavelength region in the transmitted light condensed by the image pickup lens section and second image pickup data on the basis of the light of the second wavelength region in the transmitted light condensed by the image pickup lens section, wherein the first image pickup data comprises vein pattern information and at least one source of noise and the second image pickup data comprises the at least one source of noise, wherein the at least one source of noise comprises stray light generated from a source outside of the living organism other than the light source in the light source section and light reflected at or near an incident surface of the living organism; and an image processing section configured to determine difference image data between the first image pickup data and the second image pickup data obtained by the image pickup device, wherein the difference image data excludes, at least in part, the at least one source of noise.