Patent ID: 7588723

Claim:
An air removal device for removing air from blood flowing in a perfusion system, comprising: a chamber comprised of a substantially rigid shell of a biocompatible material and having a blood flow region at a lower end thereof and having an air collection region at an upper end thereof, said chamber further having an inlet, a blood outlet, and an air outlet vertically higher than said inlet, wherein said air outlet includes an outlet mating surface proximate to an exit passage, and wherein a portion of said chamber disposed around said blood flow region is generally cylindrical about a vertical axis to provide a centrifugal flow of said blood that causes air within said blood to migrate toward said vertical axis; and a float disposed for vertical movement in said chamber along said vertical axis, wherein said float has an effective density less than the density of said blood, and wherein said float includes a generally toroidally shaped body and a sealing surface for engaging said outlet mating surface and blocking said exit passage when said float is at its vertically highest position.