Patent ID: 7972841

Claim:
An exposure device for living cell cultures comprising a base portion connected with a top portion to form therebetween a nutrient medium chamber adjacent said base portion and a fluid exposure chamber adjacent said top portion which is contiguous and coextensive with said nutrient medium chamber, and a plurality of cell culture chambers extending from said fluid exposure chamber and into said nutrient medium chamber and in a circular array about the center of said fluid exposure chamber; said nutrient medium chamber being common to all of said cell culture chambers; a fluid inlet for introducing fluid into said fluid exposure chamber; a fluid outlet for removal of fluid from said fluid exposure chamber; a nutrient medium inlet for providing nutrient medium to said nutrient medium chamber; at least one nutrient medium outlet for extraction of nutrient medium from said nutrient medium chamber; said nutrient medium chamber being positioned to provide a common well of nutrient medium that passes from said nutrient medium inlet to said at least one nutrient medium outlet; and a passive nutrient medium directing structure consisting of a single island projecting from said base portion and centrally located within said nutrient medium chamber, with a portion of the periphery of said single island adjacent midway between each of said cell culture chambers, in position within the flow of said nutrient medium from said nutrient medium inlet to said at least one nutrient medium outlet and around which said nutrient medium may flow; said cell culture chambers being in position both to receive nutrient from said common well of nutrient medium in said nutrient medium chamber and to be exposed to said fluid in said fluid exposure chamber as it passes from said fluid inlet to said fluid outlet; wherein the base of each of said cell culture chambers is spaced apart from the base of said exposure device by a gap such that, in operation, nutrient medium flows freely under each of said cell culture chambers within said nutrient medium chamber.