Fluorescence observation apparatus and fluoroscopy method

Abstract

A site of interest to be observed is clearly observed in an image during fluoroscopy of a small laboratory animal, even when the fluorescence is extremely low. The invention provides a fluorescence observation apparatus including a light source that emits excitation light; an optical system that irradiates an image-acquisition site on a small laboratory animal with the excitation light from the light source; a light-blocking unit that blocks light in a prescribed region of the small laboratory animal or in an image of the prescribed region; an image-acquisition unit that acquires a fluorescence image of the small laboratory animal; and a control unit configured to identify a high-fluorescence region having a prescribed fluorescence level or above in the fluorescence image of the small laboratory animal acquired by the image-acquisition unit and to control the light-blocking unit so as to block light at the identified high-fluorescence region.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.