Patent ID: 7282155

Claim:
A device for filtering a fluid, comprising: a fiber housing having an inlet end with at least one inlet and an outlet end with at least one outlet, the fiber housing surrounding and defining an outer bound for a plurality of fibers extending longitudinally in the fiber housing between the inlet end and the outlet end, longitudinally extending interspaces being provided between the fibers, the interspaces defining a plurality of flow passages for the fluid, wherein at least part of the fiber housing is formed of a flexible membrane surrounding the fibers; a compression tool is provided to create a pressure on an outer surface of the flexible membrane thereby compressing the fibers in a radial direction at at least one location along the length of the fibers, and the distance from the inlet end of the fiber housing to the location at which pressure is created on the flexible membrane is at least 25% of the total length of the fiber housing, wherein the compression tool is adapted to create the pressure on at least a part or a portion of the outer surface of the flexible membrane, the pressure part or portion having a dimension in the longitudinal direction of the fibers below 0.5 times the total length of the fibers within the fiber housing and wherein the fibers have free ends at the end of fiber housing opposite to the inlet end.