Blockchain Health Data Segmentation for Privacy and Immutability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing health monitoring systems lack the ability to ensure data immutability and user privacy while effectively tracing health status, particularly in the context of COVID-19, and do not adequately address the right to be forgotten and traceability requirements.
Innovation Solution
A health supervision system utilizing a blockchain-based distributed ledger to record and manage health data, ensuring immutability and privacy by storing encrypted data strings rather than raw data, with user consent and time-limited retention, allowing access only to authorized entities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If health data is stored in a centralized database for easy access and monitoring, then ease of operation is improved, but data security and user privacy are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments health data into two types: identifiable data stored locally on user devices and unidentifiable data stored on the blockchain. This segmentation allows the system to maintain ease of access through local storage while ensuring data security through blockchain's immutable and decentralized nature, resolving the contradiction between operational ease and data security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary hashing mechanism that transforms identifiable health data into unidentifiable data. This intermediary process allows the system to preserve data utility for monitoring purposes while protecting user privacy and security, enabling both easy access and secure storage simultaneously.
2Reliability
If health data is stored permanently on blockchain for immutability, then data immutability is improved, but user right to be forgotten is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the identifiable elements from health data before storing on blockchain, keeping only unidentifiable hashed data on the immutable ledger. This extraction allows the system to maintain blockchain's immutability benefits while complying with data protection requirements, as the extracted identifiable data can be deleted from user devices without affecting the immutable record of unidentifiable data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional approach by storing unidentifiable data on blockchain rather than identifiable data. This inversion allows the system to achieve both immutability and compliance with right to be forgotten, as the unidentifiable data on blockchain cannot be deleted but also cannot be used to identify individuals, while identifiable data stored locally can be deleted when no longer needed.
3Productivity
If all health data is made accessible to authorized entities for monitoring purposes, then monitoring effectiveness is improved, but user privacy is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by storing different types of data in different locations with different access characteristics. Identifiable data is stored locally on user devices with full privacy protection, while unidentifiable data is stored on the blockchain with controlled access for authorized entities. This differential storage approach enables effective monitoring through blockchain access while preserving user privacy through local storage of sensitive information.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Described is a health supervision system (1), comprising: - an identification station (10), configured to obtain at least one first data item (D1) indicating an identity of a user, - a health station (12) configured to obtain at least one second data item (D2) indicating a health situation of the user identified, - at least one local data repository (14), and - a control unit (16), configured for: - receiving the at least one first data item (D1) and the at least one second data item (D2), - calculating a string (D3), using a cryptographic function, as a function of the at least one first data item (D1) and/or the at least one second data item (D2), - storing the at least one first data item (D1) and/or the at least one second data item (D2) in the at least one local data repository (14), and - transmitting the string (D3) to a distributed architecture database (18) of the distributed ledger type to write the string (D3) to the distributed architecture database (18).