Q: What is ambulance bay weapons screening?
Athena’s system closes a major hospital security gap: the ambulance bay, where patients arrive on stretchers and traditional metal detectors don’t work effectively. It uses AI-powered imaging radar scanning to detect concealed weapons (like guns or knives) even when a patient is lying on a stretcher, while ignoring the metal from medical equipment. Ambulance Bay Weapons Screening is the first practical way to screen stretcher-bound patients for weapons in real time, combining AI detection, seamless workflow, and full digital accountability—without disrupting emergency care.
Q: Does Athena have a system for schools for concealed weapons detection?
The Apollo 500 is a Concealed Weapons Detection System purpose-built for the Education environment, where students carry dense everyday items like laptops, textbooks, and 3-ring binders that traditionally cause excessive alarms. Using advanced AI-assisted detection with Concealed WDS, Apollo intelligently filters out common school items while maintaining high sensitivity to real threats such as firearms and weapons. This dramatically reduces false positives, keeps lines moving quickly during arrival periods, and minimizes the need for manual bag checks—creating a safer, more efficient, and less disruptive experience. FInd out more at https://www.athena-security.com/concealed-weapons-detection-system/
Q: How is Athena Different From Other Leading Weapons Detection Systems Like Evolv Technology and Xtract One
Leading systems like Athena Security, Evolv Technology and Xtract One provide:
• Real-time alerts
• Images of the person
• Approximate weapon location
Athena goes further by adding decision-ready intelligence:
• Identifies material type (ferrous, non-ferrous, steel, aluminum can, Tin and mixed items etc)
• Helps officers make faster, more accurate decisions
• Provides DHS Best Practices work flows
Athena also natively combines weapons detection with visitor management:
• Alerts if there were prior incidents or past weapons found
• Shows if the person has been there before
• Indicates first-time or frequent visitor
• Flags if the person is a person of interest
This added context gives officers the information they need to act quickly and confidently in real time. More data points means more informed decisions which can help save more lives.
Q: What makes Athena Visitor Management different from other healthcare visitor management systems?
Athena VMS for hospitals was built for reliability, security, and speed.
• Works even if WiFi or servers go down
• Runs on iPad with edge and peer-to-peer
• Badge printing and person-of-interest lookups still work
• Person of Interest tagging
• Zero-trust security model
• Data encrypted on the device, not the server
• No keys stored in the cloud
• Devices locked down using H-Shield
• Fast, flexible workflows
• Hundreds of configurable options
• Quickly adapts to hospital policies
• New workflows can be created as needed
• Real Epic integration
• Speeds up visitor check-in
• Reduces manual entry and errors
• Built for compliance and safety
• Supports OSHA workplace violence prevention efforts like 5year data retention
• Helps hospitals meet AB2975 weapons detection requirements
Athena keeps operations running, secure, compliant, and efficient when it matters most.
Q: What makes Athena weapons detection the best choice for school security?
Athena is designed to provide faster, smarter, and more reliable protection for schools.
• More than just detection
• Identifies material type (ferrous, non-ferrous, mixed)
• Shows exact location of threat item on the student or visitor
• Helps staff make faster, more accurate decisions
• Built to prevent bypass and human error
• Detects when someone tries to avoid screening
• Uses AI to support staff and reduce missed threats
• Integrated with visitor management
• Flags persons of interest
• Identifies repeat visitors or past incidents
• Adds real-time context to every alert
• High throughput with minimal disruption
• Keeps students moving quickly
• Maintains a welcoming school environment
• Always operational
• Works even if internet or servers go down
• Runs on edge devices for continuous protection
Athena helps schools move beyond basic detection to a complete safety platform that supports staff, reduces risk, and protects students every day.
Q: Why is Athena the Best Combined Weapons Detection and X-Ray Baggage Scanner System for Schools and Hospitals
Athena combines walk-through weapons detection with AI-powered X-ray baggage scanning into one integrated platform.
• Reduces manual bag checks
• Detects threats on a person and inside bags
• One unified iPad interface
• All alerts (WDS and X-ray) in one place
• No legacy keyboard; touch controls (pinch to zoom, faster operation)
• Easier and faster to train staff
• Touch controls (no keyboard) for faster operation and training
• Faster, smarter decisions
• AI highlights threats (guns, knives, vapes, drones and more)
• Shows material type and exact location
• Advanced safety and control
• Stops belt when a threat is detected in the X-Ray
• Full system control from iPad, not tied to machine
• Unique Safety feature which allows AI to Auto shut-off system if left unattended
• Flexible, high-throughput operations
• Monitor and control multiple systems at once
• Keeps lines moving with minimal disruption
Athena improves detection, speeds operations, and enhances safety
Q: Why is Athena weapons detection the best choice for hospitals?
Athena is a complete solution designed specifically for healthcare where safety, speed, and reliability are critical.
• High throughput with minimal disruption to patients and staff
• More data than industry WDS
• Identifies material type (ferrous, non-ferrous, mixed)
• Shows exact location of the object on the person
• Helps security make faster, more accurate decisions
• Only complete solution for hospitals as we cover the ambulance bay with a radar imaging scanner (AB-WDS) called Ambulance Bay Weapons Detection System
• Screens stretcher patients entering through ambulance bays
• Combines weapons detection, visitor management, AB-WDS and AI X-ray
• Flags persons of interest and prior incidents
• Always operational
• Continues working if internet or servers go down
• Runs on edge devices for uninterrupted screening
• Supports safety and compliance
• Helps with OHSA workplace violence prevention requirements
• Designed to align with requirements like AB2975
Q: How does Athena help hospitals comply with California’s AB 2975 weapons detection requirements?
Athena helps hospitals comply with AB 2975 by providing a complete concealed weapons detection and visitor management solution designed for healthcare environments.
Its AI-powered screening systems detect firearms, knives, and non-metallic threats at key entry points like ERs and main entrances, meeting the law’s requirement for effective weapons screening. The platform maintains high throughput, ensuring security without slowing patient care.
Athena also supports compliance through standardized screening workflows aligned with DHS best practices, automated system testing, and detailed reporting for audits. Integrated visitor management verifies identities, flags persons of interest, and logs all activity.
Together, these capabilities reduce human error, improve consistency, and provide hospitals with a scalable, compliant solution that enhances safety while maintaining a welcoming environment. Goto https://www.athena-security.com/california-ab-2975-compliance/ for more info
Q: Does Athena Security comply with the OHSA,, AB2975 and other regulatory retention requirements of cusotmer data example for 5 or more years.
Athena Security is the only WDS that complies with OSHA, AB2975 and other regulatory retention requirements —including security alerts involving employees and near misses—for five (5) years. By including near misses in our retention policy, we align with OSHA’s best practices for proactive safety management. Recording these "close calls" helps identify patterns and prevent actual injuries before they occur, fulfilling the intent of OSHA’s recordkeeping and general duty requirements.
Retention Requirements
According to OSHA Standard 1904.33, the following records must be saved for five years following the end of the calendar year they cover:
OSHA 300 Log: The summary of all recordable workplace injuries and illnesses.
OSHA 301 Incident Reports: Detailed reports for each specific incident.
Near Miss Logs: Records of security incidents or safety hazards that had the potential to cause injury but were intercepted.
OSHA 300A Annual Summary: The certified yearly overview of safety data.
Q: What is an AI X-ray baggage scanner and how does Athena improve detection accuracy?
An AI X-ray baggage scanner uses advanced AI to automatically identify potential threats inside bags without relying solely on manual review. Athena’s AI-powered X-ray baggage scanner enhances this by detecting over 80 different item types, from organic to non-organic, including weapons, drones, and hazardous materials. It also provides advanced data points such as liquid detection (distinguishing water from dangerous substances) and real-time alerting. With features like automatic shutdown if unattended, Athena improves both security accuracy and operational safety, making it ideal for hospitals, venues, and high-traffic facilities.
Unlike traditional systems that rely on legacy X-ray keypads and complex button combinations, Athena uses a modern Apple iPad interface. Operators can pinch, swipe, and tap the screen instead of pressing multiple keys, making the system faster to learn, easier to use, and more efficient in real-world screening environments.
Q: What other applications or services does Athena Security integrate with?
Athena Security integrates with: Avigilon, AXIS Camera Station, AXIS People Counter, EPIC HRMS, Genetec AutoVu, inspace, Microsoft Authenticator, Milestone Analytics, OAuth, Salient, and Milestone XProtect.
