Windsor Regional Hospital is beginning to see a decrease in the number of weapons being detected by a new AI-powered security system at the entrance to the hospital's emergency departments.
As of 1 p.m. on March 20, the Evolv Weapons Detection System had detected 2,239 items since being installed on Oct. 19, 2023.
Of the 2,239 items detected, 1,179 were classified as knives.
The system detected around 15 items, including nine knives, per day in January, but so far, it is detecting around six items, including three knives, per day in March.
President and Chief Executive Officer, David Musyj, says the company warned them at the start that they would see numbers that would shock them, but as word of the machines spread, the numbers would start to decrease.
Any illegal knives are turned over to authorities, while legal knives, like pocket knives, are held by security before being turned back to the patient when they leave.
Other items that have been seized since the machine was installed include brass knuckles, screwdrivers, and illegal drugs, but no firearms have been detected.
Windsor Regional Hospital is the first healthcare centre in Canada to use the advanced system, which is installed at the hospital's emergency departments at the Met and Ouellette campuses.
Musyj says organizations across Ontario and Canada have reached out to the hospital to talk about the success of the system.
"We are not alone with these issues and, again, just like these other organizations, you don't know what you don't know," he says. "Once you put one of these, you start finding out how many are being brought into the hospital setting."
Windsor Regional Hospital is paying roughly $8,000 a month to lease the technology and have it in place at the two emergency departments.
Musyj, says unfortunately, it's identified a risk that they didn't even know the extent of.
"It's one of the best investments, and return on investments, we've ever made from a safety and security point of view," he says. "For the amount of money we're paying, as compared to what we're keeping out of the emergency departments, and the comfort it's providing to staff, visitors and patients."
Unlike traditional metal detectors, the Evolv Weapons Detection System uses powerful sensor technology with artificial intelligence to detect weapons or other potential items of concern while also allowing staff, patients and visitors to pass through the check point without always having to open their bags or empty their pockets.
The AI technology distinguishes between items that might be a threat, such as a gun or knife, and most every day items individuals might be carrying like a cellphone.
If the system detects an item of concern, a red light would be activated, a video would highlight where the perceived threat may be on the person in question and a security guard would then perform a secondary inspection.