Patent ID: 8029728

Claim:
An air removal device for removing air from blood flowing in a perfusion system, comprising: a cylindrical chamber 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; a vertical guide structure in said air collection region; a float disposed for vertical movement following said vertical guide structure, wherein said float has an effective density less than the density of said blood; a lever arm having a first end for following vertical movement of said float and having a second end pivotally mounted at a pivot point stationary with respect to said vertical guide structure; and a valve coupled to said air outlet and to an intermediate point of said lever arm between said first and second ends for closing said air outlet when said float is at its vertically highest position wherein said inlet comprises an arcuate manifold providing an arcuate blood flow path outside of said chamber having an upstream end and a downstream end and a slit aperture between said arcuate manifold and said chamber, said slit aperture extending along at least a substantial portion of said arcuate manifold.