An open chest wound usually has a second hole you have not seen yet. Two vented seals in one pouch means both holes get the same seal — after you check the back.
At a glance
12 things to know about the HALO Vent
What the vent does, why the TCCC Guidelines put vented seals first, and what the research does and does not show.
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01
Vented first is the TCCC position
The TCCC Guidelines dated 1 May 2026 direct that every open or sucking chest wound be treated by immediately applying a vented chest seal; if a vented seal is not available, a non-vented one is used. Either way, the casualty is then monitored for a developing tension pneumothorax.1 What is in the kit is what goes on: among U.S. casualties with chest wounds in Afghanistan, most of the seals placed were not vented.15
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02
Why the vent matters
Sealing the hole stops air being drawn in through the chest wall, but an injured lung can keep leaking air inside the chest. In pigs with an ongoing air leak, an unvented seal led to tension pneumothorax in every animal after about 1.4 L of air, while a vented seal held through 2 L.10 That research drove the 2013 change to vented-first.9
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03
How the HALO Vent vents
The center of the seal is a hydrogel-free window that goes over the wound. When pressure builds inside the chest, air lifts the cover layer and escapes through vents; when pressure drops, the cover settles back and keeps the seal. Four vents sit around the dressing so it can drain whichever way the casualty is lying.3,8
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04
Two seals for two holes
A bullet or blade that goes in often comes out. The instructions direct a second seal on any additional chest wound,4 and this pouch carries it. Check the back, the sides and the armpits — an exit wound on the back is the one most often missed.
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05
Big enough to find clean skin
Each seal measures 8.35 × 6.06 in. (21.2 × 15.4 cm), and Medical Devices, Inc. makes the HALO Vent in that one size.3,5 The adhesive has to land on intact skin all the way around the wound, which is why a large seal forgives an off-center placement under stress.
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06
Two adhesives, not one
A hydrogel infused with scrim — a reinforcing mesh that adds strength and limits gel migration — does the main work, and an outer tape edge adds a second adhesion zone. The manufacturer states it adheres in damp, dry, sandy and hairy conditions, and in the presence of moisture, pleural fluid or blood.3,4 The first step in the instructions is still to clean and dry the area.
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07
Built for gloved, bloody hands
An oversized release liner, a large pull tab and transparent construction let you see the wound through the seal and put the window where it belongs.3 The same tab gives you a grip to lift an edge if the seal needs burping.
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08
Rated −30 °F to 140 °F, six-year shelf life
Medical Devices, Inc. rates the HALO Vent from −30 °F to 140 °F (−34 °C to 60 °C) with a six-year shelf life, and its FDA device record lists the same storage and handling range.3,7 It is non-sterile, latex-free and single use.4,7
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09
Keep the vents clear
The instructions warn against placing the HALO Vent where the casualty's body weight or other equipment can block the vents, and against placing it over a protruding object, which can worsen the injury or damage the vents.4
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10
Vented does not mean set-and-forget
Vent designs perform differently. With a bleeding chest wound in pigs, success ranged from 6 of 6 to 0 of 4 across five vented brands; blood clogged or lifted off the one-way-valve designs.11 The HALO Vent was not one of the five, and a 2021 systematic review judged the evidence on individual brands limited.14 Whatever seal is on, keep watching the casualty's breathing.
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11
Not on the evidence-based device list — and no chest seal is
The Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts list dated 15 December 2021 names tourniquets and hemostatic dressings; it names no chest seal, so the HALO Vent is not evidence-based standard.2 Absence from the list does not by itself mean a product was tested and failed. The TCCC Guidelines specify the device type: vented.1
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12
Made in Michigan since 2009
Medical Devices, Inc., founded in 1982, launched the HALO chest seal in 2009, manufactures in the United States and works under an ISO 13485 quality system.5 The HALO Vent is an FDA-registered, Class I (510(k)-exempt) occlusive wound dressing.6
How to apply the HALO Vent
The sequence from the manufacturer's instructions and the TCCC Guidelines, with the exit-wound check built in.
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1Expose and find every hole. Cut clothing away and look and feel front, back, sides and armpits. Life-threatening bleeding is controlled first — tourniquet, packing, pressure dressing.
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2Cover it now. Put a gloved hand over the hole — or have the casualty do it — while you open the pouch at a tear notch.
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3Wipe it. Clean and dry the skin around the wound: blood, sweat and debris all fight the adhesive.4
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4Peel and aim. Remove the clear liner without letting the gel touch anything else, then place the seal gel side down with the vent centered over the wound.4
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5Press, don't stretch. Smooth it on with light pressure from the center out. Do not stretch the seal.4
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6Seal the exit. Apply the second seal the same way on any other chest wound you found.4
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7Position and watch. Unconscious and breathing: recovery position. Conscious: let them sit up or take whatever position helps them breathe.1 Watch for worsening shortness of breath, a rising breathing rate, a racing pulse, blue lips or falling oxygen readings.1,4
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8Worse? Burp it. Lift an edge with the pull tab to let trapped air escape, then press it back down — or remove the seal. Trained providers follow the Guidelines' decompression direction if breathing does not improve.1,4
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9Hand it off. Tell the receiving team how many seals are on and where, and keep reassessing during transport.4
Where it fits
- Open or sucking chest wounds — the device type the TCCC Guidelines call for first1
- Entry and exit wounds from the same injury — two seals in one pouch
- Wounds on wet, hairy or bloody skin, once the skin has been wiped3,4
- IFAKs, plate-carrier pouches and vehicle kits where space is tight
- Packing — never pack gauze into a chest or abdominal wound
- Over a protruding or impaled object — stabilize the object instead4
- Post-surgical wounds — a listed contraindication4
- Limb bleeding — that is the tourniquet, packing gauze and pressure dressing
- Practice — train on a chest seal trainer, not a live seal
The evidence
Every study cited above, what it tested, and how strong it is.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kheirabadi et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2013 | Animal · crossover | Unvented HALO vs vented Bolin seal on an open chest wound with an ongoing air leak, 8 swine | Both restored breathing within 5 min; the unvented seal led to tension pneumothorax in all 8 after ~1.4 L of air, the vented seal held through 2 L |
| Kheirabadi et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2017 | Animal · comparative | Five vented seals on a bleeding open chest wound (hemopneumothorax), 26 swine | Success: Russell 6/6, Sentinel 6/6, HyFin Vent 4/6, SAM 1/4, Bolin 0/4; one-way valves clotted or detached |
| Kotora et al., J Emerg Med 2013 | Animal · comparative | HyFin, Sentinel and SAM vented seals, communicating pneumothorax, 24 swine | All three evacuated air and blood; no tension physiology developed with a seal in place |
| Arnaud et al., Injury 2016 | Animal · adhesion | Vented seals on soiled live swine skin, at room temperature and after extreme cold and heat storage | Russell, FastBreathe, HyFin and SAM adhered similarly; Bolin adhesion fell after temperature extremes |
| Schachner et al., Ann Thorac Surg 2022 | Bench · ex vivo | Improvised seals on a pig chest wall with a simulated open pneumothorax | Wet rescue-blanket squares sealed 5 of 5; plastic foil from a gauze wrapper sealed 0 of 5 |
| Schauer et al., J Spec Oper Med 2017 | Human · combat registry | 62 U.S. casualties with gunshot or puncture wounds to the chest, Afghanistan | 74.2% received a chest seal; most seals placed were not vented |
| Butler et al., J Spec Oper Med 2013 | Expert review · TCCC change 13-02 | evidence-based review of open pneumothorax care after the 2013 swine data | Vented chest seal first; non-vented if no vented seal; monitor, burp or remove, decompress |
| Margolis et al., J Spec Oper Med 2014 | Expert consensus · C-TECC | Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care review of vented vs non-vented seals | Vented seals likely add benefit; non-vented users reassess, burp and decompress; no clear outcome superiority proven |
| Paquette et al., J Spec Oper Med 2021 | Systematic review | Six quantitative chest seal studies, 1990–2020; one used human participants (adhesion only) | HyFin Vent and Russell best supported; evidence on individual devices is limited |
| Lyng et al. (NAEMSP), Prehosp Emerg Care 2024 | Expert review · position statement | Structured review of EMS traumatic pneumothorax care | EMS may consider a vented seal in a spontaneously breathing patient; seals may be harmful during positive-pressure ventilation |
Strongest to weakest: human data, then animal studies, then bench work. Every brand-to-brand comparison of chest seals is in pigs or on pig skin; the HALO non-vented seal was the unvented arm of the 2013 study, and the HALO Vent was not among the vented seals compared.
How it compares
The vented and non-vented seals a buyer most often weighs against the HALO Vent.
| HALO Vent (2-pack) | HALO Seal (2-pack) | HyFin Vent (twin pack) | Russell Chest Seal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | Medical Devices, Inc. | Medical Devices, Inc. | North American Rescue | Safeguard Medical |
| Vented | Yes — four vents around a hydrogel-free center | No — fully occlusive | Yes — channel vent | Yes — four-aperture valve |
| Seals per pack | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Published swine data | Not among the brands compared | Unvented arm, 2013: tension pneumothorax in 8 of 8 with an ongoing air leak10 | Held in 4 of 6 with a bleeding chest wound;11 no tension pneumothorax in a communicating model12 | Held in 6 of 6 with a bleeding chest wound11 |
| evidence-based standard | No | No | No | No |
The Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts list (15 December 2021) names no chest seal of any brand;2 absence from the list does not by itself mean a product was tested and failed. Both HALO seals measure 8.35 × 6.06 in.3
Build the system
The rest of the HALO line, the alternatives, a trainer, and the other three jobs in the kit.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
Specifications coming soon. Contact us for detailed product information.
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