Artificial intelligence to scan for weapons at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre
Artificial intelligence is coming to Manitoba's largest hospital in an effort to boost safety and stop weapons from getting inside.
The Health Sciences Centre will soon launch a pilot project using AI scanners to detect weapons at the entrances of the adult emergency department and the Crisis Response Centre. While no start date has been finalized, the hospital says this technology could be in action as early as next week.
"We have had incidents where people have brought weapons into the facility and we had a security guard injured earlier this year from one of those weapons," said Dr. Shawn Young, the chief operating officer at HSC.
He said he's seen pictures of the long knives and machetes – just a few examples of some of the weapons that have been brought into the hospital.
"We're now going to be taking a greater effort to make sure that they're not carrying any weapons that could be of concern for us," he said. "Prior to this, we weren't so much asking. It was similar to your going to the store, going to a mall – we just didn't ask."
Under this pilot project, which could last months, every patient, visitor and staff member will need to be screened when entering the ER or Crisis Response Centre. It'll be similar to a metal detector, but this scanner will use AI to detect weapons.
Unlike a metal detector, visitors won't have to take off their shoes or pull out their keys, wallet and cellphone from their pocket.
"It is exciting because we're only the second hospital in the country to be using this new technology," Young said.
Similar technology is being used in Ontario's Windsor Regional Hospital. Since the Ontario hospital started using the new technology in October 2023, it detected more than 1,800 'threats.'
It's a success that Young hopes will be replicated here in Winnipeg – but the hospital isn't necessarily putting all its eggs in one basket.
"There is not one thing that we do that is going to be able to get our campus safe for everybody," Young said. "It's going to be hundreds of things that we're going to be doing on a regular basis… This is just going to be one of those tools."
That's a sentiment echoed by the Manitoba Nurses Union, who said the new technology is a step in the right direction.
"One of the things that we hear from nurses is that, yeah, there's lots of weapons coming into facilities," said the union's president Darlene Jackson. "But I think we still need to really address the violence that's happening, because it's not just weapons – it is nurses being yelled at, being spit on, being assaulted, being punched. Those are issues that also need to be dealt with."
The hospital said this AI technology is just one of the ways it's trying to address the safety concerns. It has already added amnesty lockers, where people can store weapons and other items while inside the hospital. It has also beefed up the hospital's security team, with 40 safety officers working in the areas of the highest reported violence each equipped with pepper spray.
Manitoba's Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara told CTV News they believe the AI scanners along with the other safety efforts will make a 'measurable difference.'
"I know its health care workers who often are most at risk of violence, and I want HSC health care staff to know we're making these investments with their safety and wellbeing in mind," they said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Shared Health said the vendor of the AI technology is lending the equipment to the hospital for the trial period, so the hospital doesn't have to pay anything. They noted there may be some costs around additional staff for the scanners.
After the pilot, if the hospital wants to move forward, it would need to submit an official RFP and purchase the equipment.
-With files from CTV's Daniel Halmarson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6975593.1721827455!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Male, female killed, 2 others injured in 'gun battle' outside Toronto plaza: police
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.
Canada's envoy to NYC called to testify about $9M condo purchase on 'Billionaires' Row'
Canada's Consul General in New York will have to explain the government's decision to buy a $9 million condo in Manhattan's famous 'Billionaires' Row,' to a parliamentary committee.
Prince Harry says lawsuits against U.K. press 'central piece' in family breakdown
Prince Harry, speaking in clips published on Wednesday from a new documentary, said his legal battles with Britain's tabloid press have contributed to the breakdown of his relationship with the royal family.
Bank of Canada cuts interest rate, signals more to come if inflation keeps dropping
The Bank of Canada has decreased its policy interest rate for the second consecutive time and signalled more cuts are coming if inflation continues to ease.
Wildfires less than 8 km away from Jasper townsite, some structures impacted in national park
As the evacuation order continues for Jasper National Park, officials confirm that some structures in the park have been damaged by fire, but they can't confirm what those structures are.
Olympics: Céline Dion's presence in Paris 'not a coincidence,' says French minister
Céline Dion's presence in Paris a few days ahead of the Olympic Games opening ceremony is 'not a coincidence,' the French government says.
These athletes have been named Canada's Olympic flag-bearers
Decorated sprinter Andre De Grasse and Olympic weightlifting champion Maude Charron will carry Canada's flag into the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Friday.
Trump rally gunman looked online for information about Kennedy assassination, FBI director says
FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Wednesday that a laptop tied to the Trump rally gunman included a Google search of 'How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?'
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.