Patent ID: 7842123

Claim:
Apparatus for removing bubbles from a liquid to be infused to a patient, the apparatus comprising: a feed liquid container; means for supplying blood to said feed liquid container; a vertical column, having a lower end and an upper end, and having an inlet adjacent the lower end for receiving liquid from said feed liquid container, a side outlet vertically thereabove for exit of the liquid from the column, and a gas trap adjacent the upper end; a bubble-separator which causes bubbles in the liquid entering the column to move toward a central axis of the column as the liquid travels from the inlet to the outlet so that the bubbles enter the gas trap; and means for creating a vacuum in an upper region of the gas trap, which means comprises means for supporting the feed liquid container at different vertical locations so as to control the pressure head in the column and create a vacuum in an upper region of the gas trap.