Blood filter unit

Claim 1

A unit for filtering blood comprising an assembly for supporting a filter cartridge, a filter cartridge, and a housing for said assembly and cartridge, said housing having a tapered cylindrical form with the smaller diameter end of said housing having an inlet for the blood to be filtered and an air vent, said housing and said assembly being fixedly securable to each other, said assembly for supporting a filter cartridge comprising a permeable cylindrical core, a top cap attached to one end of the core to seal said end, a bottom member attached to the opposite end of the core and extending outwardly from the periphery of the core leaving the center of the core open to act as the filter outlet, a filter cartridge comprising filter media extending between said top cap and said bottom member and about the circumference of said core, said media being sealed to the top cap and the bottom member, said core and said media in contact only at discrete, intermittent areas spaced longitudinally and circumferencially about the core and the distance between the housing and the filter media being uniformly increased from bottom member to the top cap and the area of the internal opening of the filter media being steadily increased from the top cap to the bottom member, whereby the uniformity of filter media utilization is increased.