E-Health: Value Proposition and Technologies Enabling Collaborative Healthcare

E-health, enabled by ubiquitous computing and communication technologies, is facilitating a fundamental shift in the age old praxis of healthcare. It is revolutionizing healthcare in the 21st century in much the same way as the arrival of modern medicine and vaccines did in the 19th century. E-health lies at the intersection of diverse disciplines including healthcare, computer science, information systems, economics, and political science. The broad impact of E-health on diverse domains, complexity of supporting technologies, and the dizzying interplay of theories bridging multiple disciplines creates a rich problem space for information system researchers and calls on to conduct cross-disciplinary research. In the current paper we present salient characteristics of e-health and discuss its value proposition. The value proposition of e-health presents the entire range of processes supporting the healthcare sector. We also present research opportunities as e-health takes center stage in the delivery of healthcare

Healthcare systems protection: All-in-one cybersecurity approach

Cyber risks are increasingly widespread as healthcare organizations play a defining role in society. Several studies have revealed an increase in cybersecurity threats in the industry, which should concern us all. When it comes to cybersecurity, the consequences can be felt throughout the organization, from the smallest processes to the overall ability of the organization to function. Typically, a cyberattack results in the disclosure of confidential information that undermines your competitive advantage and overall trust. Healthcare as a critical sector has, like many other sectors, a late bet on its transformation to cybersecurity across the board. This dissertation reinforces this need by presenting a value-added solution that helps strengthen the internal processes of healthcare units, enabling their primary mission of saving lives while ensuring the confidentiality and security of patient and institutional data. The solution is presented as a technological composite that translates into a methodology and innovative artifact for integration, monitoring, and security of critical medical infrastructures based on operational use cases. The approach that involves people, processes, and technology is based on a model that foresees the evaluation of potential assets for integration and monitoring, as well as leveraging the efficiency in responding to security incidents with the formal development of a process and mechanisms for alert and resolution of exposure and attack scenarios. On a technical level, the artifact relies on the integration of a medical image archiving system (PACS) into a SIEM to validate application logs that are linked to rules to map anomalous behaviors that trigger the incident management process on an IHS platform with custom-developed features. The choice for integration in the validation prototype of the PACS system is based not only on its importance in the orchestration of activities in the organization of a health institution, but also with the recent recommendations of various cybersecurity agencies and organizations for the importance of their protection in response to the latest trends in cyberattacks. In line with the results obtained, this approach will have full applicability in a real operational context, following the latest practices and technologies in the sector.Os riscos cibernéticos estão cada vez mais difundidos à medida que as organizações de cuidados de saúde desempenham um papel determinante na sociedade. Vários estudos revelaram um aumento das ameaças de cibersegurança no setor, o que nos deve preocupar a todos. Quando se trata de cibersegurança, as consequências podem ser sentidas em toda a organização, desde os mais pequenos processos até à sua capacidade global de funcionamento. Normalmente, um ciberataque resulta na divulgação de informações confidenciais que colocam em causa a sua vantagem competitiva e a confiança geral. O healthcare como setor crítico apresenta, como muitos outros setores, uma aposta tardia na sua transformação para a cibersegurança de forma generalizada. Esta dissertação reforça esta necessidade apresentando uma solução de valor acrescentado que ajuda a potenciar os processos internos das unidades de saúde possibilitando a sua missão principal de salvar vidas, aumentando a garantia de confidencialidade e segurança dos dados dos pacientes e instituições. A solução apresenta-se como um compósito tecnológico que se traduz numa metodologia e artefacto de inovação para integração, monitorização e segurança de infraestruturas médicas críticas baseado em use cases de operação. A abordagem que envolve pessoas, processos e tecnologia assenta num modelo que prevê a avaliação de potenciais ativos para integração e monitorização, como conta alavancar a eficiência na resposta a incidentes de segurança com o desenvolvimento formal de um processo e mecanismos para alerta e resolução de cenários de exposição e ataque. O artefacto, a nível tecnológico, conta com a integração do sistema de arquivo de imagem médica (PACS) num SIEM para validação de logs aplicacionais que estão associados a regras que mapeiam comportamentos anómalos que originam o despoletar do processo de gestão de incidentes numa plataforma IHS com funcionalidades desenvolvidas à medida. A escolha para integração no protótipo de validação do sistema PACS tem por base não só a sua importância na orquestração de atividades na orgânica duma instituição de saúde, mas também com as recentes recomendações de várias agências e organizações de cibersegurança para a importância da sua proteção em resposta às últimas tendências de ciberataques. Em linha com os resultados auscultados, esta abordagem terá total aplicabilidade em contexto real de operação, seguindo as mais recentes práticas e tecnologias no sector

Modèles algorithmes et méthodologie pour la conception de systèmes de sécurité physique basés sur des microcontrôleurs protégés des attaques cyber-physiques

Un moyen d'assurer la sécurité de systèmes basés sur des micro-contrôleurs (mCS) est de considérer une approche de génération à partir de spécifications. Malheureusement, les approches existantes souffrent d'inconvénients, et le but de la méthodologie présentée dans cette thèse est de les éviter dans le cas particulier des mCS pour la sécurité physique (mCS-Sec). Les principaux résultats de ce travail sont le développement de modèles, d'algorithmes, et d'une méthodologie originale de création de mCS-Sec, et leur implémentation. L'applicabilité de la méthode a été évaluée sur un système de robot de surveillance d'une zone. Dans ce cas, notre évaluation a montré que l'approche développée satisfaisait toutes les contraintes imposées, tout en offrant certains avantages par rapport aux solutions existantes. Nous pensons que cette approche permettra de réduire le nombre de faiblesses et les problèmes d'architecture dans les mCS, ce qui en réduira la surface d'attaque.One of the possible ways to ensure the security of microcontroller-based systems is the implementation of security by design approach. Unfortunately, existing approaches are not without drawbacks, that is why this thesis is aimed at developing the new one. Moreover, among all possible systems, in this work, only physical security systems were chosen as an area of the application. The main findings of the work are containing original models, algorithms, methodology and software implementation. Their correctness was checked on a system of mobile robots for perimeter monitoring. The evaluation of the developed solution showed that it satisfies all requirements while having advantages over commercial and scientific analogues, which means that the goal of this work was reached. It is assumed that the use of the developed solution will help to reduce the number of weak places and architectural defects in microcontroller-based systems, thereby significantly reducing their attack surface

Is in-vivo sensing in a total hip replacement a possibility? A review on past systems and future challenges.

Surgery to implant a total hip replacement (THR) is very successful in reducing pain and restoring function. This procedure has become more prevalent, and projections estimate further increases in demand. However, complications can arise, and current diagnostic techniques often fail to expose underlying issues before they result in a catastrophic failure that requires revision surgery. An instrumented implant, with embedded sensors capable of real time condition monitoring, would be an attractive proposition to incorporate within a THR. Continued advances in the performance and miniaturisation of electronic components, embedded systems, sensing and wireless communications have given the tools and resources medical device manufacturers need to innovate in the field of implantable medical devices. Smart implants are already being widely used in healthcare including pacemakers, cochlear implants, glucose monitors and insulin pumps however, a widely used smart THR has not yet been realised. Since the implantation of the first instrumented hip implant in the 1960s there have been several in-vitro studies monitoring levels of implant loosening. Additionally, significant research has been conducted using instrumented THRs to perform in-vivo measurement of biomechanical metrics, including force and moments. To date less than 100 patients have successfully received an instrumented implant. The results of these studies have aided researchers, designers and surgeons in wider research projects, however, the motivation behind the work was to provide discrete biomechanical data sets and not provide real-time condition monitoring of an implants performance or highlight early indications for revision surgery. If in-vivo sensing within a THR is to be achieved and adopted in regular clinical practice then the following challenges need to be addressed: choice of the sensing method, biocompatibility and integration within the implant, power supply, communication, and regulatory considerations