Private Conjunctive Database Queries With Tag-Limited Proxy Access

The patent introduces a proxy server as an intermediary between the client and the database. The proxy receives encrypted queries, processes them through a private database, and returns encrypted results. This intermediary architecture allows detailed metadata access while preventing direct exposure of patient-identifying information to queryers, thus reducing re-identification risk while maintaining query capability.

The patent uses encrypted copies of patient records stored in a private database accessible only through the proxy. Instead of providing direct access to original patient data, the system provides encrypted copies that can be processed securely. This allows metadata access for clinical decisions while the original patient-identifying information remains protected in the private database.

The patent segments the database into a public database for anonymous queries and a private database for secure stored data. It also segments the query processing into multiple components: client-side query construction, proxy-server processing, and server-side execution. This segmentation allows complex genotype combination queries to be processed while distributing privacy protection responsibilities across multiple components, reducing overall system complexity.

The proxy server acts as an intermediary that handles the complexity of privacy protection. It receives detailed queries from clients, processes them through the private database, and returns results without exposing the complexity of the underlying privacy mechanisms to the end users. This allows precise diagnosis queries while hiding the complexity of privacy protection from the user interface.

The proxy server serves as an intermediary in federated database access, receiving queries from multiple institutions, processing them through the private database, and returning results encrypted. This allows ease of data sharing across institutions while the proxy ensures that patient privacy information is not exposed during the sharing process, preventing information loss of sensitive patient data.

The system creates encrypted copies of patient records in the private database that can be shared with authorized institutions. Instead of sharing original patient data directly, the system shares encrypted copies that preserve necessary information for clinical decisions while protecting patient privacy. This enables data sharing capability while preventing loss of patient privacy information.

The client is equipped with self-service capabilities to generate and verify digital signatures for query terms. The client can autonomously create signed queries without requiring manual authentication for each query term. This maintains strong security through digital signatures while simplifying the query execution process for users, as the signing operation is performed automatically by the client's software.

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing digital signature verification mechanisms and query term validation rules before actual queries are executed. The proxy server is pre-configured with the ability to verify signatures and enforce restricted query terms automatically. This preliminary setup ensures data security while making query execution straightforward for users, as the security checks are performed automatically in the background.