A Review on Blockchain for the Internet of Medical Things: Definitions, Challenges, Applications, and Vision

Mobile devices and new technologies have the potential to help medical professionals improve patient outcomes and well-being. One case in point is the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). On the downside, many healthcare organisations find it difficult to meet system compliance requirements when it comes to integrating new solutions into their IT infrastructure. 

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) enables the sharing of data in a trust-less scenario through its properties of decentralisation, immutability, and transparency. Blockchain and the Internet of Medical Things are still in a nascent state with a small number of successful implementations. Examples of implementation span data sharing, the interoperability of systems, security of devices, the opportunity of data monetisation and data ownership, which are the focus of this research review: A Review on Blockchain for the Internet of Medical Things: Definitions, Challenges, Applications, and Vision. 

The paper gives an overview of the state-of-the-art of the Blockchain-based systems for the Internet of Medical Things, specifically addressing the challenges of reaching user-centricity for these combined systems, and thus highlighting the potential future directions to follow for full ownership of data by users.

Key findings

• Wellbeing is the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. Managing medical data efficiently could improve patient wellbeing.
• With mobile devices, it is now possible to collect a massive amount of data that could be used to deliver and discover new solutions and treatments. By introducing the Internet of Medical Things, potentially any data collected by a user could be exploited with a specific goal.
• DLTs could bring a new way of handling privacy and security in healthcare while also enabling the sharing of information between different organisations easier.
• By achieving user-centricity, security, scalability and interoperability, Blockchain could be the technology that enables privacy-preserving data sharing.

Lookout Watch Entry Date: 27 December 2020.