Scientific Reports (Aug 2024)

The role of blockchain to secure internet of medical things

  • Yazeed Yasin Ghadi,
  • Tehseen Mazhar,
  • Tariq Shahzad,
  • Muhammad Amir khan,
  • Alaa Abd-Alrazaq,
  • Arfan Ahmed,
  • Habib Hamam

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-68529-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 31

Abstract

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Abstract This study explores integrating blockchain technology into the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) to address security and privacy challenges. Blockchain’s transparency, confidentiality, and decentralization offer significant potential benefits in the healthcare domain. The research examines various blockchain components, layers, and protocols, highlighting their role in IoMT. It also explores IoMT applications, security challenges, and methods for integrating blockchain to enhance security. Blockchain integration can be vital in securing and managing this data while preserving patient privacy. It also opens up new possibilities in healthcare, medical research, and data management. The results provide a practical approach to handling a large amount of data from IoMT devices. This strategy makes effective use of data resource fragmentation and encryption techniques. It is essential to have well-defined standards and norms, especially in the healthcare sector, where upholding safety and protecting the confidentiality of information are critical. These results illustrate that it is essential to follow standards like HIPAA, and blockchain technology can help ensure these criteria are met. Furthermore, the study explores the potential benefits of blockchain technology for enhancing inter-system communication in the healthcare industry while maintaining patient privacy protection. The results highlight the effectiveness of blockchain’s consistency and cryptographic techniques in combining identity management and healthcare data protection, protecting patient privacy and data integrity. Blockchain is an unchangeable distributed ledger system. In short, the paper provides important insights into how blockchain technology may transform the healthcare industry by effectively addressing significant challenges and generating legal, safe, and interoperable solutions. Researchers, doctors, and graduate students are the audience for our paper.

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