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

Abstract

Nowadays, there are a lot of new mobile devices that have the potential to assist healthcare professionals when working and help to increase the well-being of the people. These devices comprise the Internet of Medical Things, but it is generally difficult for healthcare institutions to meet compliance of their systems with new medical solutions efficiently. A technology that promises the sharing of data in a trust-less scenario is the Distributed Ledger Technology through its properties of decentralization, immutability, and transparency. The Blockchain and the Internet of Medical Things can be considered as at an early stage, and the implementations successfully applying the technology are not so many. Some aspects covered by these implementations are data sharing, interoperability of systems, security of devices, the opportunity of data monetization and data ownership that will be the focus of this review. This work aims at giving an overview of the current 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.

Internet of Things (IoT) Technology Research in Business and Management Literature: Results from a Co-Citation Analysis

“…According to the respective application area, different IoTs can be distinguished. The so-called Internet of Healthcare Things or Internet of Medical Things relates to healthcare issues and is among the areas most rapidly using IoT technologies [56][57][58][59][60][61][62]. Using more medical devices leads to higher volumes of medical data.…”

Enabling Security Services in Socially Assistive Robot Scenarios for Healthcare Applications

“…The Internet of Things have a positive impact on the healthcare domain [ 9 ], starting from ambient assisted living applications [ 10 ] or applications that target the monitoring of several vital parameters [ 11 ] and aiming to build the so-called Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) framework [ 12 ]. Even though the IoMT concept is at its early stage, the technologies used to embody each layer of IoMT architectures allow for the collection of health data that may be the premise for new diagnostics and treatments [ 13 ]. Nevertheless, when developing IoT-based healthcare applications, one must also assume IoT threats and disadvantages and security measures must be implemented on each layer of the architecture: Devices, Network, Cloud, Application [ 14 ] and also on the extensions of the architecture, where applicable, Edge and Fog [ 14 , 15 ], as IoT provides applications such as drug recommendation, sensor calibration, and health parameter monitoring, which may afflict human beings [ 16 ].…”

Exploring the Next Wave of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology: The Overlooked Potential of Scenario Analysis

“…Blockchain as a technology is no longer the main focus of interest, but rather, it is recognized as a potential means to serve various ends. Numerous industry use cases have been detailed in the literature in areas as diverse as the financial industry [17,18], supply chain management [19], healthcare [20,21], marketing [22], art and the music industry [23], or in tourism [24].…”