Apparatus, method and operating method of apparatus for excluding non-target-region of fluorescence

A fluorescence observation apparatus comprising:

• 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;
• a non-target-region excluding portion that excludes a region, in the examination subject, in which the intensity distribution of fluorescence which is generated satisfies a predetermined condition which is according to a concentration of a specific biological component;
• and
• an identifying portion that identifies a region, as a specific region, which is other than the regions excluded by the non-target-region excluding portion and in which fluorescence whose fluorescence intensity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is generated,
• wherein the fluorescence-distribution acquiring portion is provided with an imaging device that includes a plurality of pixels arrayed in rows and columns and that captures the fluorescence, and
• wherein the fluorescence observation apparatus further comprises:
• a region setting portion that excludes, from among the individual pixels at least in every other row or at least in every other column in the imaging device, a pixel which captures fluorescence whose intensity in equal to or less than a specific wavelength band is decreased, identifies, from among pixels other than the pixels that have been excluded, a pixel which captures fluorescence whose fluorescence intensity is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, and, subsequently sets a plurality of pixel groups each of which includes the identified pixel and a plurality of pixels in the surroundings thereof,
• wherein the non-target-region excluding portion excludes, in each of the plurality of pixel groups, a pixel which captures fluorescence whose intensity in a wavelength band equal to or less than a specific band is decreased, and
• wherein the identifying portion identifies a pixel which is other than the pixels excluded by the non-target-region excluding portion and which captures fluorescence whose fluorescence intensity is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold.