Blockchain Document Access System for Drug Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital platforms for sharing research documents lack security, authenticity validation, and control over document sharing, leading to risks of data misuse and plagiarism, especially for unpublished and sensitive research findings.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for secure document access transactions using a server arrangement with processors, communicating with client devices, which validates access requests, retrieves and delivers document hashes from a distributed file storage, and ensures secure communication without storing documents locally, employing a distributed file system and blockchain for immutability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If documents are stored on conventional digital platforms for sharing, then document accessibility is improved, but security risks (data misuse, data theft) increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blockchain-based intermediary layer that mediates between document owners and access seekers. The blockchain stores cryptographic hashes of documents and manages access permissions without storing the actual sensitive documents, thereby enabling secure document sharing while eliminating security risks associated with centralized storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the document storage and access management into separate components: (1) document storage on distributed file systems, (2) cryptographic hash storage on blockchain, and (3) access permission management through smart contracts. This segmentation allows document accessibility while preventing security risks by ensuring no single entity controls the complete document lifecycle.
2Loss of information
If documents are published on digital platforms, then knowledge sharing is improved, but authenticity validation and plagiarism prevention become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by generating and storing cryptographic hashes of documents on the blockchain at the time of document creation or upload. This preliminary hashing enables future authenticity validation and plagiarism detection without hindering knowledge sharing, as the hash serves as an immutable fingerprint that can be verified at any later time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through smart contracts that automatically verify document authenticity by comparing submitted documents against their stored cryptographic hashes on the blockchain. This provides real-time feedback on document integrity and enables automated plagiarism detection, thereby maintaining reliability while promoting knowledge sharing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If authors share unpublished documents on digital platforms, then research collaboration is improved, but control over document sharing is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic control mechanisms through smart contracts that allow document owners to define and modify access permissions flexibly. Owners can specify which users or organizations can access documents, under what conditions, and for how long. These permissions can be dynamically changed or revoked without affecting the collaborative research process, thereby maintaining both adaptability and control.
4Loss of time
If conventional digital platforms store documents centrally, then document retrieval is simplified, but vulnerability to data misuse and theft increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments document retrieval into two independent operations: (1) retrieving cryptographic hashes from the blockchain, and (2) fetching actual documents from distributed storage. This segmentation allows efficient document retrieval through hash-based indexing while preventing data misuse by ensuring no central repository holds both the documents and the means to control their access.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a system for executing access transactions of documents, for example, pertaining to drug discovery. A document and its metainformation are obtained, and value features are extracted from the document based on identification of concepts associated with the document. An importance score of the document is determined based on the value features and the metainformation. A summarized view of the document is constructed based on the value features, the metainformation, the concepts and the importance score. A unique identifier is generated for the document and associated with the summarized view and the concepts of the document. A search query is processed, and the summarized view of the document is retrieved and displayed based on the query. A request for accessing the document is validated, and document access is allowed when the request is validated successfully. The document access transaction may, for example, be facilitated using a blockchain platform.