Athena Security has announced its Ambulance Bay Weapons Detection System.
According to the company, the new solution is powered by a new Ambulance Bay AI Agent, which automates weapons screening for patients arriving via stretcher or wheelchair – removing the need for hand-wanding and closing one of healthcare’s most critical security gaps.
Lisa Falzone, Co-Founder and President of Athena Security commented: “The ambulance bay has always been one of the hardest areas in healthcare to secure.
“Security teams are forced to choose between speed and safety. With our new Ambulance Bay AI Agent, they no longer have to.
“Our system brings automation, precision and accountability to a part of the hospital that has historically been left exposed,” she concluded.
Athena stated that hospital emergency departments face a uniquely complex screening environment.
Patients often arrive unconscious or in distress, on fully metal gurneys, making traditional metal detectors ineffective and manual screening both time-consuming and inconsistent.
Historically, hospitals have relied on handheld wands to screen patients – an approach that is inherently flawed.
As stretchers are entirely metal, wands frequently trigger false positives, requiring multiple passes over the body.
In emergency situations, where seconds matter, this process is often rushed or skipped altogether.
According to the company, the new system eliminates these challenges entirely.
Instead of stopping to manually scan a patient, staff can simply wheel the patient through the system, allowing the AI Agent to conduct a full-body scan in seconds – reducing screening time by up to 30–60 seconds per patient while improving accuracy and consistency.
Athena Security highlighted that the key features and benefits of the Ambulance Bay Weapons Detection System include:
Unlike traditional systems, the Ambulance Bay WDS is purpose-built to operate in high-pressure medical environments, delivering reliable performance without slowing down emergency workflows, Athena added.
Chris Ciabarra, co-founder and CTO of Athena Security explained: “Our job is to detect and show exactly where the object is.
“From there, each hospital follows its own policies on how to handle the situation. But we eliminate the guesswork. You’re no longer relying on someone manually waving a wand and hoping they didn’t miss anything.”
Athena explained that the Ambulance Bay AI Agent replaces the need for manual hand-wanding entirely – automating a process that has historically been inconsistent due to time constraints, human error and the urgency of emergency care.
The new solution combines real-time detection with image capture, incident logging and documentation within a single, unified workflow.
The system performs the scan, generates alerts and automatically logs each event, delivering improved speed, accuracy and accountability.
The company added that it also includes chain-of-custody tracking for confiscated items, ensuring that every screening event is fully documented, auditable and supportive of both compliance and operational oversight.
By transforming ambulance bay screening from a manual, inconsistent process into a fast, automated, AI-driven workflow, Athena Security said that it is enabling hospitals to improve safety without slowing down care.
The Ambulance Bay Weapons Detection System integrates with Athena’s broader entryway security platform, including visitor management, weapons detection and AI-assisted X-ray, delivering a unified approach to facility-wide security.