Patent ID: 7250137

Claim:
A flask assembly for use in apparatus having a cabinet made to receive the flask assembly for conditioning mammalian blood, the flask assembly including: a flask in the form of an envelope defining a substantially enclosed volume and including a top and a bottom, the top having an access opening and an outlet; a connector assembly coupled to said top of the flask; a probe extending from the connector assembly, through the access opening and having a top end and a leading end, the probe being sealed in the access opening and defining an input lumen for transporting a charge to the bottom of the flask, an output lumen for transporting conditioned charge from the bottom of the flask out of the flask, and a gas lumen for feeding gas into the flask to condition the charge when a charge is in the flask; the connector assembly including outlet tubing coupled to said outlet to lead spent gas out of the flask, and inlet tubing coupled to the gas lumen; a pair of gas connectors coupled to a platform and connected to the respective gas inlet tubing and to the gas outlet tubing to make gas connections when the flask assembly is mounted in the apparatus, whereby as the flask is engaged in the cabinet the gas connectors engage a gas supply system for conditioning said charge in the flask before removing the conditioned charge; the probe including a further lumen containing a temperature probe for monitoring the temperature of the charge, the temperature probe being located near the leading end of the probe; and said further lumen ends at a side opening in the probe, and the temperature probe being positioned in the opening for better thermal conductivity from the charge to the temperature sensor.