Abstract: A medical device includes: a sheath that is provided with a flexible section configured to have flexibility so as to be deformed between a first shape extending along the longitudinal axis and a second shape bent in a direction intersecting the longitudinal axis; a deformation assisting member attached to the sheath so as to be movable along a surface of the sheath; a position adjustment part connected to a proximal end section of the sheath, the position adjustment part being configured to adjust a relative position of the deformation assisting member with respect to the sheath; and a curved section provided at one of the flexible section and one longitudinal section of the deformation assisting member and having a bent shape. The deformation assisting member disposed at the flexible section imparts to the flexible section a driving force for causing deformation between the first shape and the second shape.

Abstract: A fluorescence observation apparatus including a light source configured to irradiate an object with white light and excitation light; and a processor comprising hardware, wherein the processor is configured to implement: a fluorescence-image generating unit and a white-light-image generating unit configured to generate a fluorescence image G2 and a color white-light image, respectively; a condition setting unit configured to set weights individually for multiple color component images constituting the white-light image; and a combining unit configured to combine at least one color component image to which the fluorescence image has been added and the other color component images while applying the weights, and the condition setting unit configured to set the weights based on the color component images such that the weight for the color component image to which the fluorescence image is added is greater than the weights for the other color component images.

Abstract: A fluorescence imaging apparatus including: a processor comprising hardware, configured to: specify a processing condition to be used to process a fluorescence image in accordance with treatment-details information indicating specifics of a treatment to be performed on a biological tissue; in a case where a first processing condition is specified, identify a first fluorescence region in the fluorescence image having a predetermined first fluorescence intensity based on the first processing condition; in a case where a second processing condition is specified, identify a second fluorescence region in the fluorescence image having a predetermined second fluorescence intensity based on the second processing condition; and generate a superimposed image by superimposing the first fluorescence region or the second fluorescence region that is identified, with a return-light image at a region in the return-light image corresponding to the first fluorescence region or the second fluorescence region, respectively, that

Abstract: A fluorescence observation apparatus comprising a light source having a single light-emitting portion for emitting white light and excitation light simultaneously and radiates the white light and the excitation light; a light guide that guides the radiated white and excitation lights and simultaneously irradiates the white and excitation lights light onto a specimen; a white-light-image acquisition unit that receives return light of the white light coming from the specimen and acquires a white-light image; a fluorescence-image acquisition unit that receives fluorescence excited in the specimen by the excitation light and acquires a fluorescence image; an illumination-light filter that is disposed between the light-emitting portion and a radiation exit end of the light source, and satisfies the following conditional expression, Pf(?w)<Pf(?e), wherein Pf(?w) and Pf(?e) are transmittances of the illumination-light filter at a wavelength ?w in a white-light band and a wavelength ?e in a excitation-light band.

Abstract: A fluorescence observation apparatus including a light source that radiates illumination light and excitation light; a return-light-image generating portion and a fluorescence-image generating portion that generate a return-light image and a fluorescence image, respectively; a fluorescence detecting portion that detects a fluorescence region in the fluorescence image; a return-light-image adjusting portion that adjusts gradation values of the return-light image; a superimposed-image generating portion that generates a superimposed image by using the return-light image, in which the gradation values have been adjusted, and the fluorescence image; and a coefficient setting portion that sets, in the case in which the fluorescence region is detected, a degree-of-reduction of the gradation values, so that the gradation values of the return-light image are decreased as compared with the case in which the fluorescence region is not detected.

Abstract: Provided is a fluorescence observation apparatus including: a fluorescence image acquisition section and a reference image acquisition section that acquire a fluorescence image and a reference image of a subject, respectively; a division image generation section that generates a division image by dividing an image based on the fluorescence image by an image based on the reference image; a display section that displays a corrected fluorescence image based on the division image; a correction processing section that applies correction processing to at least one of the reference image and the fluorescence image and/or to the division image prior to the generation of the division image or prior to the display of the corrected fluorescence image; an observation condition determination section that determines observation conditions of the subject; and a correction condition setting section that sets parameters regarding the correction processing according to the observation conditions.

Abstract: The invention provides a fluoroscopy apparatus including an image-capturing device that acquires a fluorescence image of a subject; a sensitivity adjusting portion that sets a sensitivity of the image-capturing device to fluorescence on the basis of a gradation value of the fluorescence image; a notifying portion that extracts a lesion part from the fluorescence image acquired by the image-capturing device with the sensitivity set by the sensitivity adjusting portion and presents it to an operator; and a display switching portion that displays the fluorescence image on a display unit when the sensitivity in the image-capturing device is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold and that presents information showing the existence of the lesion part on the notifying portion when the sensitivity is greater than the predetermined threshold.

Abstract: Fluorescence generated at a lesion is distinguished from fluorescence generated at portions other than the lesion, and thus, observation is performed by using only the fluorescence generated at the lesion. Provided is a fluorescence observation apparatus including a light radiating portion that radiates excitation light onto an examination subject; a fluorescence-distribution acquiring portion that acquires an intensity distribution of fluorescence generated at the examination subject due to irradiation with the excitation light from the light radiating portion; and a non-target-region excluding portion that, in the fluorescence-intensity distribution acquired by the fluorescence-distribution acquiring portion, excludes regions in which a spectrum in a specific wavelength band has changed due to a specific biological component whose concentration in a lesion is lower than in other portions.

Abstract: Provided is a fluoroscopy apparatus including illuminating portions that radiate excitation light and illumination light onto an imaging subject; a fluorescence imaging portion that acquires a fluorescence image from fluorescence emitted at the imaging subject due to the irradiation with the excitation light; a return-light imaging portion that acquires a return-light image from return light returning from the imaging subject due to the irradiation with the illumination light; a display portion that displays the acquired fluorescence image and/or the return-light image; an identifying portion that identifies a region-of-interest in the fluorescence image; an image switching portion that switches the display on the display portion so that only the return-light image is displayed thereon when the region-of-interest R is not identified, and so that the return-light image and the fluorescence image are juxtaposed and displayed on the display portion when the region-of-interest has been identified.

Abstract: Observation is performed at a more appropriate sensitivity without causing deterioration of the image quality. Provided is a fluorescence observation apparatus including an excitation light source that emits excitation light to be radiated onto an imaging subject; a fluorescence-image acquisition portion that is provided with an imaging device that acquires fluorescence images by capturing fluorescence generated at the imaging subject due to the irradiation with the excitation light emitted from the excitation light source; and a sensitivity adjusting portion that adjusts an number of pixels for binning summing and/or an exposure time for the imaging device on the basis of luminance information of the fluorescence image acquired by the imaging device of the fluorescence-image acquisition portion so that an SN ratio of the fluorescence image becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: Provided is a fluorescence endoscope device that includes a light source; an image generating portion that captures an image of fluorescence generated at a subject due to irradiation with excitation light to obtain a fluorescence image and that captures an image of return light returning from the subject due to irradiation with white light to obtain a white-light image; a dividing portion that divides the fluorescence image by the white-light image to generate a divided fluorescence image; a coordinate extracting portion that extracts a second region of the divided fluorescence image having a gradation value higher than a second threshold; a fluorescence-image correcting portion that extracts a first region having a gradation value higher than a first threshold in the fluorescence image and generates a corrected fluorescence image in which an overlap region that overlaps the second region is extracted; and a monitor that displays the corrected fluorescence image.

Abstract: There is provided a fluorescence observation apparatus, including: a lighting section including a light source emitting illumination light and excitation light; a fluorescence imaging section picking up fluorescence generated on a subject and acquiring a fluorescence image; a returned light imaging section picking up returned light returned from the subject and acquiring a returned light image; a preprocessing section multiplying at least either the fluorescence image or the returned light image by a coefficient in which a distance property of fluorescence intensity and a distance property of returned light intensity, which are acquired in advance with respect to a standard sample, come to be in a relation directly proportional to each other and generating a fluorescence image for correction and a returned light image for correction; and a fluorescence image correction section dividing the fluorescence image for correction by the returned light image for correction.

Abstract: A fluorescence observation apparatus comprising a light source having a single light-emitting portion for emitting white light and excitation light simultaneously and radiates the white light and the excitation light; a light guide that guides the radiated white and excitation lights and simultaneously irradiates the white and excitation lights light onto a specimen; a white-light-image acquisition unit that receives return light of the white light coming from the specimen and acquires a white-light image; a fluorescence-image acquisition unit that receives fluorescence excited in the specimen by the excitation light and acquires a fluorescence image; an illumination-light filter that is disposed between the light-emitting portion and a radiation exit end of the light source, and satisfies the following conditional expression, Pf(?w)<Pf(?e), wherein Pf(?w) and Pf(?e) are transmittances of the illumination-light filter at a wavelength ?w in a white-light band and a wavelength ?e in a excitation-light band.

Abstract: Provided is a fluorescence observation device including: a processor configured to: extract, as a candidate region of interest, a region in a corrected fluorescence image that has a gradation value larger than a gradation-value threshold, the gradation-value threshold being set based on an average of gradiation values, a standard deviation, a first coefficient, and a second coefficient; receive a result, inputted by an observer, as to whether a candidate region of interest displayed on a display is a result of right indicating a determination by the observer that the candidate region of interest is a region of interest or a result of wrong indicating a determination by the observer that the candidate region of interest is not a region of interest; and set at least one of the first coefficient and the second coefficient so as to reflect the result inputted by the observer.

Abstract: Provided is a fluoroscopy apparatus including a light source that irradiates an observation target with reference light and excitation light; a fluorescence-image generating unit that captures fluorescence emitted from the observation target X irradiated with the excitation light to generate a fluorescence image; a reference-image generating unit that captures return light returning from the observation target irradiated with the reference light to generate a reference image; an image-combining unit that superimposes the fluorescence image on the reference image to generate a combined image; a determining unit that determines whether there is a position with a luminance at or below a predetermined threshold in the reference image; and a notifying unit that, if the determining unit determines that there is a position with a luminance at or below the predetermined threshold, provides notification thereof.

Abstract: A fluorescence observation apparatus including a light source that radiates illumination light and excitation light; a return-light-image generating portion and a fluorescence-image generating portion that generate a return-light image and a fluorescence image, respectively; a fluorescence detecting portion that detects a fluorescence region in the fluorescence image; a return-light-image adjusting portion that adjusts gradation values of the return-light image; a superimposed-image generating portion that generates a superimposed image by using the return-light image, in which the gradation values have been adjusted, and the fluorescence image; and a coefficient setting portion that sets, in the case in which the fluorescence region is detected, a degree-of-reduction of the gradation values, so that the gradation values of the return-light image are decreased as compared with the case in which the fluorescence region is not detected.

Abstract: Provided is a fluoroscopy apparatus including a fluorescence-image generating portion that generates a fluorescence image; an identifying portion that identifies a position of a high-luminance region in the fluorescence image; a storage portion that stores the position of the high-luminance region; a detecting portion that detects an amount of change in a physical quantity, which can possibly act as a cause of changes in a property of the high-luminance region, starting from a time at which the position of the high-luminance region is identified by the identifying portion; a confidence-level calculating portion that calculates a confidence level of the property of the high-luminance region based on the detected amount of change; and a display-image generating portion that generates a display image in which the display mode at the position of the high-luminance region is set in accordance with the confidence level.

Abstract: Radiation is captured without fail, and a sharp image of a region where radiation is generated is acquired. A capsule medical device (3) includes an excitation light source (7) that generates excitation light for irradiating an inner wall (4) of a body cavity, a CCD (9), having variable sensitivity, that captures fluorescence generated at the inner wall (4) of the body cavity by the excitation light emitted from the excitation light source (7) to acquire a two-dimensional fluorescence image, and a control unit (35) that performs control so as to reduce the sensitivity of the CCD (9) when the fluorescence intensity in at least part of the fluorescence image acquired by the CCD (9) exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: Observation is performed at a more appropriate sensitivity without reducing an image quality. Provided is a fluorescence observation device (1) including: an excitation light source (3) that emits excitation light to be radiated onto a subject (A); a fluorescence-image acquiring section (21) provided with an imaging element (18) that acquires a fluorescence image (G2) by imaging fluorescence produced in the subject (A) when the excitation light emitted from the excitation light source (3) is radiated onto the subject (A); and a sensitivity adjusting section (22) that adjusts, based on luminance information of the fluorescence image (G2) acquired by the imaging element (18) of the fluorescence-image acquiring section (21), a number of pixels for binning summing (B) and/or an exposure time (t) in the imaging element (18) such that a SN ratio of the fluorescence image (G2) is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A fluorescence observation apparatus including a light source configured to irradiate an object with white light and excitation light; and a processor comprising hardware, wherein the processor is configured to implement: a fluorescence-image generating unit and a white-light-image generating unit configured to generate a fluorescence image G2 and a color white-light image, respectively; a condition setting unit configured to set weights individually for multiple color component images constituting the white-light image; and a combining unit configured to combine at least one color component image to which the fluorescence image has been added and the other color component images while applying the weights, and the condition setting unit configured to set the weights based on the color component images such that the weight for the color component image to which the fluorescence image is added is greater than the weights for the other color component images.