A medical fluid infusion system (10) including: a fluid pathway (16) for transporting a pulsatile flow of fluid; a dampening element (80) in communication with the fluid pathway, the dampening element configured to actively dampen pressure fluctuations of the pulsatile flow to smoothen the pulsatile fluid flow, the dampening element operable in any orientation; and a fluid flow sensor (50) disposed along the fluid pathway downstream of the dampening element to measure the flow rate of the smoothened fluid flow.