Research Review
1.Background
Over the past decades, there have been various technological advancements in various ways that seek to change the way things are done or to solve a specific problem in society. Such advancements have been experienced in various sectors such as education, transportation, healthcare, among other areas with each innovation coming with distinct impacts either on the individuals using it or the entire system. The main of such innovation is to make work easier while improving efficiency and reducing the costs of handling various tasks or solving problems that exist in society. An example of a technological innovation that has revolutionized the way things are done in different sectors is the Internet which has had various impacts since its introduction. The internet is an interconnection of computers through a network that allows the computers to code, transmit, receive and decode data to and from other computers.
Internet of Things is a major aspect of the advancements that are shaping the operations and running of various organizations or companies with the various features it has introduced. The Internet of Things is an interconnection between various electronic gadgets or devices with software systems, sensors, and the ability to communicate with each other in a network as programmed or enabled. In medical practice, the intersection between various devices and gadgets is referred to as the Internet of Medical Things and is widely used in healthcare systems today. The Internet of medical things involves the integration of various gadgets that monitor and asses inventory management, staff operations, drug administration, patient movements, and other operations relevant to a healthcare system. The efficiency brought by this innovation is useful to the players in healthcare including the patients, health care professionals, insurers, and researchers.
Such Technologies are classified differently depending on the type of work done by the devices, the nature of the gadgets among other characteristics. The first category of these devices is such gadgets that are implantable such as the cardiac function monitors and other such gadgets that are implanted in patients to observe and relay specific data. Also in this category are the devices and gadgets that are wearable such as heart monitors which are often worn to take and relay specific data. Ambient devices such as door sensors also fall in this category as they are used to record and replay specific data as is appropriate. Also in this first category of gadgets are the stationary devices which include the computerized tomography scanners which don’t have to be moved from place to place to function.
The second category of the technologies used in this innovation is the cloud-based platforms that enable the use of gadgets. Such a platform gives the other devices and gadgets web interfaces, reports, and analytics for efficiency in the operation of the technologies in the first category. The third category of the technologies is the systems that provide various services in the process of healthcare provision. Various web or mobile applications that are used to analyze the various data and provide information or thorough medical analytics are in this category of technologies. Also, in this category are various integrated systems that aid in billing, accounting, and tracking insurance information about patients all of which are significant aspects of the healthcare system.
Generally, medical devices are categorized according to the similarity or the difference in the use or the needs where such devices apply in the healthcare system. It is important to note that these devices used are available for acquisition in the medical markets. Also, in the healthcare system, there are varying gadgets with different roles ranging from fitness trackers, devices for monitoring blood, gadgets for monitoring the blood oxygen levels, and those that monitor sugar levels among other devices. As indicated, the mode of use of these devices also varies as some are worn, others implanted or held during use. Some of these devices are basic and simple to use and can be used at home by patients while others are complex and can only be used by experts in hospitals.
In as much as the various technologies have achieved a significant milestone in advancing efficiency of the provision of quality healthcare, there are challenges associated with the practice. The threat to the security of the patient’s data is a fundamental question and a major controversy around the use of the internet of medical things. Most of these devices and technologies used have no or inferior security features and areas such prone to hacking by other people to retrieve or distort information. Also, in using such devices in collecting, relaying, and analyzing medical data, the data can be easily accessed by third parties which contravene the professional ethics of protection of patients’ data. This thus calls for the need to prioritize the security and privacy of medical data from patients which implies the need to improve the security of the technologies used to ensure patient data protection.
2.Summary of the Related Review
Farahat et al(1)present a criterion l that seeks to offer the solution concerning the security, privacy, and secrecy of patient data while using the this form of innovation in healthcare provision. The research comes up with various data security mechanisms that would ensure the encoding of information in secure encryption. Data encryption implied that iinformation collected is encoded in a secret mode which can only be decoded by the intended recipient using an electronic signature or mode of identification. However, this proposition was challenging in that in as much as it ensured data security, only one set of information can be transmitted at a time.
Kao et al (2)come up with a more complex way of collecting, transmitting, and analyzing medical data while ensuring no exposure to any security threats. This method introduces a form of data obtainment system using supervisory control that involves the use of an intelligent electrical remote. The internet information system used in this form of internet of things lays remote power monitoring using model view controllers. Despite the accuracy and efficiency that this method seems to provide, it does not address any of the security and privacy concerns of patient data management.
Yaacoub et al (3) first conduct an insightful look into the various challenges that are associated with the technologies involved in medical data collection and analytics. It further looks into the security challenges and seems to solve the cancers by establishing a security assessment bracket that is web based for the internet of medical things. It proposes a security solution that is in line with the objectives of the user and also helps in the decision-making using the data obtained using the system. This system addresses various security questions and provides possible solutions to the questions raised though the practicality of the method for effective implementation remains unaddressed.
Alsubaei et al (4) employ various security architectures and a web-based security assessment framework to help solve the problem of insecurity. This system seeks to develop the security assessment frameworks for the internet of medical things in line with the objectives of the users of the system. However, the system seems more complex and difficult to apply in managing the various technologies used in the internet of things. Also worth noting is that besides the research and development of the method to solve the problem it has not been released to be used by the public for use.
Bilal and Hameed(5) came up with sufficient architectures and admission control techniques for the distributed Internet of Things healthcare environment visibly using the practicalities involved. The method provided a solution founded on securing and protecting the important information collected about patients. Such provisions that compel a compilation of vital encryption algorithms utilizing disseminated essence to allow healthcare-based data it proposed top-secret sharing. However, in as much as the method sought to solve the problems of data security on the internet of medical things the security techniques proposed by the system were not implemented.
3. Tabulated Summary of the Review
S/N Author Year Tittle Objectives Limitation
1 Farahat et al 2018 A secure real-time internet of medical smart things (IOMST) Sought to protect patient information secrecy and integrity, improve access to care, increasee the quality of care, reduce the cost of care and develop a real-time security model The approach was confined to collecting only single device data at a time and only device value with no patient identity was obtained. Also, the approach did not explore how the obtained data can be managed securely by the healthcare professional on the cloud
2 Kao et al 2018 Design and improvement of an IoT-based web application for an intelligent remote SCADA technique To design an intelligent remote electrical power supervisory control and data acquisition system . The biggest limitation of the scheme is that security and privacy was not taken in to consideration at all.
3 Yaacoub et al 2019 Protecting internet of medical things systems: Impediments, issues and suggestions To explore problems, challenges and drawbacks facing IoMT, along with the different security mechanisms that can be put in place to guarantee data security while using IoMT in the healthcare system. The constraint with this work is that the approaches for the framework of securing IOMT remained unimplemented.
4 Alsubaei et al 2019 IoMT-SAF: Internet of Medical Things Security Assessment Framework To develop a web-based Internet of Medical Things Security Assessment Framework The considerable challenge with the framework is that it is complex and lengthy of the security profiles hence difficult to access. Also, the framework is not yet ready for public usage.
5 Bilal & Hameed 2020 Comparative Analysis of data encoding Techniques for Sharing Data in IoMT Devices To Make comparative Analysis of Encryption methods that can be used while transmitting Data between the Devices and suggest the best techniques. The security techniques remains unimplemented.
4.Problem Statement
Internet of Things is a very useful technological advancement used in various fields to improve the efficiency of the output of the system tasks. Internet of medical things which is the interaction between various electronic devices and gadgets over a network that help in the healthcare provision process has several unaddressed shortcomings. Protection of patients data from third party access is a significant code in medical practice that medical professionals need to adhere to. However, the incorporation of the Internet of internet of medical things leaves some loopholes that may interfere with data security. This technological advancement is not adequately secured and can be easily hacked by strangers to access patient information or can expose such data to various third parties within the healthcare system. There is therefore need to come up with mechanism of developing the use of such technologies to ensure that the patients data is secured without interfering with the efficiency.
5. Aim and Objectives
The research seeks to conduct an in depth assessment of the efficiency of using this technological advancement in the practice of healthcare provision. The research further seeks to provide amicable solutions to the problems that come along application of the technologies of internet of medical things in healthcare provision. The research also seeks to analyze various research works that have attempted to improve the efficiency of the use of such technologies in healthcare provision. Further, the research looks into the strengths and shortcomings of the five major research works that sought advance the use of this technology for both patient data protection and efficiency in healthcare provision.
References
(1)Farahat, I.S., Tolba, A.S., Elhoseny, M., Eladrosy, W. (2018) A secure real-time internet of medical smart things (IOMST), Computers and Electrical Engineering 72 (2018) 455–467.
(2)Kao, K., Chieng, W. & Jeng, S. (2018) Design and development of an IoT-based web application for an intelligent remote SCADA system, IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 323 (2018) 012025 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/323/1/012025.
(3)Yaacoub, J. A., Noura, M., Noura, H.N., Salman, O., Yaacoub, E., Couturier, R., Chehab, A. (2019) Securing internet of medical things systems: Limitations, issues and recommendations, Future Generation Computer Systems 105 (2020) 581–606.
(4)Alsubaei, F., Abuhussein, A., Shandilya, V., Shiva, S. (2019) IoMT-SAF: Internet of Medical Things Security Assessment Framework, Internet of Things 8 (2019) 100123.
(5)Bilal, M. A. & Hameed, S. (2020) Comparative Analysis of Encryption Techniques for Sharing Data in IoMT Devices, American Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology. DOI: 10.36648/2349-3917.8.1.46
