Patent ID: 7621407

Claim:
An apparatus for filtering and de-aerating biological fluid comprising a conical housing including: a) an inlet port at the base of said conical housing for passage of biological fluid; b) a purge port at the top of said conical housing for the passage of gas; c) at least a first microporous filter and a second microporous filter configured sequentially and positioned to upwardly extend towards said purge port and a filter retaining ring, wherein the top of said microporous filters are attached to said filter retaining ring, said filter retaining ring having openings between attached portions of said microporous filters, and in fluid communication with said purge port to direct a portion of the gas through said openings and into said purge port; d) an active air purge assembly located below and in fluid communication with said purge port to remove the remaining gas from said conical housing, said active air purge assembly comprising a hydrophobic filter, a one-way valve, an air removal port and a pressure monitoring port; and e) a downspout assembly at the base of said conical housing to the pass filtered and substantially gas-free blood out of said conical housing.