HSS, Denver, introduced Spotlight and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered thermal cameras—two new security offerings to help protect the health and safety of individuals at hospitals, government buildings, and other settings where safety and security is top of mind.

“With new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on the rise again, HSS continues to provide a 24/7 response effort to our customers,” says Kirsten Benefiel, CEO of HSS. “The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are reporting an increase in cybercrimes against U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers, potentially leading to compromised medical outcomes, patient data privacy breaches, and related lawsuits. With the addition of our two new offerings, organizations now have even more control and peace of mind as they adopt new ways to protect their environments during this pandemic.”

Spotlight

Spotlight is a medical device security service that solves a critical challenge threatening healthcare facilities and their patients: cyberattacks resulting in compromised devices that impact patient safety, protected patient information, and network security. Hospitals often have more than 7,000 unique types of medical devices—ranging from ventilators to infusion pumps to defibrillators—that must be monitored and maintained with the most up-to-date security patches in order to protect the organization and its patients. HSS’ team of technicians work in an on-site capacity or remotely to ensure every one of those devices can serve as a lifeline for patients for the lifetime of the device.

HSS partners with healthcare organizations, including Children’s Hospital Colorado, to manage the lifecycle of their devices regardless of the manufacturer. Healthcare executives are assured that HSS’ team of technicians are cataloging, assessing, prioritizing, and applying security patches for their devices.

Customers including Vail Health are utilizing Spotlight, which can be scaled to work with any budget, to protect against negative patient outcomes; minimize the cost of penalties, fines, and lawsuits; and prevent reputational damage.

“Spotlight has filled the gap between IT and the biomed teams—it is a natural extension of any healthcare system and benefits the entire organization,” says Ryan Kolczak, director of technical operations at Vail Health. “Spotlight alerts us to risks on the network—for example, an infusion pump or a ventilator that is in need of a patch—and enables us to have an accurate inventory of all our devices for patching or maintenance. This is key to the overall safety of our patients and organization.”

AI-Powered Thermal Cameras

The new line of open-source AI-powered thermal cameras offered by HSS leverages advanced technology to keep facilities safer and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The portable, stand-alone cameras automatically measure an individual’s body temperature and can detect if they are wearing a face mask, thus allowing the cameras to alert operators in real-time if an individual presents a potential threat to the health and safety of others nearby.

The enterprise-based cameras, which are manufactured in the U.S., can analyze up to 16 people at once and feature audio capabilities to communicate with those being screened remotely. They provide increased safety and cost savings to an organization by reducing the need for physical staffing and can be integrated into existing installations or operate as traditional security cameras post-pandemic. They also reduce the need for team members to staff specific areas of the facility so they can focus on the critical components of their jobs.

A large healthcare system in Colorado has purchased more than 50 HSS thermal cameras in order to screen patients and staff upon entry. Other customers in Colorado include a large school district and professional sports teams.