Instrument port for epicardial ablation with anatomical epicardial structures and real-time lesion image processor

An instrument port comprising:

• an elongated shaft having proximal and distal ends and extending along a shaft axis, the elongated shaft having a fluid port defined in an external surface at the distal end of the elongated shaft;
• a bendable shaft having a proximal end attached to the distal end of the elongated shaft along the shaft axis, the bendable shaft configured to bend only within a pivot plane that is defined by the shaft axis and a pivot axis that is orthogonal to the shaft axis, the bendable shaft further comprising a plurality of mechanical rings disposed along the shaft axis, each of the plurality of mechanical rings coupled to another of the mechanical rings by a pair of mechanical links, wherein each of the pair of mechanical links comprise a first mechanical link having an interior surface dynamically coupled to an exterior surface of a second mechanical link;
• a steerable tip attached to a distal end of the bendable shaft, the steerable tip including an imaging system that includes:
• a camera disposed at a distal end of the steerable tip;
• and
• a light emitter disposed at the distal end of the steerable tip;
• an offset balloon attached to the external surface of the elongated shaft, the offset balloon having an internal volume in fluid communication with the fluid port, the offset balloon having an inflated state and a deflated state, wherein in the inflated state the offset balloon creates space between the elongated shaft and an anatomical feature to permit the bendable shaft to bend within the pivot plane, and wherein the mechanical links mechanically restrict a bending direction of the bendable shaft to the pivot plane;
• a handle attached to the proximal end of the elongated shaft, the handle including a spindle in mechanical communication with the bendable shaft to adjust a customizable angle of the steerable tip, the customizable angle measured between the shaft axis and the tip axis;
• a mechanical lock having a locked state and an unlocked state, wherein the customizable angle of the steerable tip is locked while the mechanical lock is in the locked state, the mechanical lock comprising:
• a shaft comprising a locking shaft axis extending through the spindle and threads configured to couple to a flared shaft brake, the flared shaft brake configured to engage the spindle while in the locked state and to disengage the spindle while in the unlocked state;
• a locking housing comprising a locking channel slidably coupled to the shaft, the locking channel comprising:
• a locked side;
• and
• an unlocked side;
• wherein the locking channel transitions between the locked state and the unlocked state by sliding linearly in a direction perpendicular to the locking shaft axis,
• wherein the mechanical lock is in the locked state when the shaft slides to the locked side, and
• wherein the mechanical lock is in the unlocked state when the shaft slides to the unlocked side;
• a fluid tube disposed in the elongated shaft, the fluid tube fluidly coupled to the fluid port;
• a working tube disposed in the elongated shaft, the working tube forming a working channel;
• an ablation catheter disposed in the working channel, the ablation catheter configured to form a lesion at a surgical site;
• and
• a microprocessor-based controller in electrical communication with the imaging system, the microprocessor-based controller configured to:
• acquire image data of the surgical site from the camera associated with a plurality of images;
• analyze, using an image processor, the image data of the surgical site from the camera by comparing the image data of the plurality of images to a second of the plurality of images;
• automatically detect, in real time, the lesion formed at the surgical site;
• and
• automatically stop the ablation catheter when the lesion has a predetermined characteristic;
• wherein the predetermined characteristic is derived from the image data of the surgical site.