195 research outputs found
IMDfence: Architecting a Secure Protocol for Implantable Medical Devices
Over the past decade, focus on the security and privacy aspects of implantable medical
devices (IMDs) has intensified, driven by the multitude of cybersecurity vulnerabilities found in various
existing devices. However, due to their strict computational, energy and physical constraints, conventional
security protocols are not directly applicable to IMDs. Custom-tailored schemes have been proposed instead
which, however, fail to cover the full spectrum of security features that modern IMDs and their ecosystems so
critically require. In this paper we propose IMDfence, a security protocol for IMD ecosystems that provides a
comprehensive yet practical security portfolio, which includes availability, non-repudiation, access control,
entity authentication, remote monitoring and system scalability. The protocol also allows emergency access
that results in the graceful degradation of offered services without compromising security and patient safety.
The performance of the security protocol as well as its feasibility and impact on modern IMDs are extensively
analyzed and evaluated. We find that IMDfence achieves the above security requirements at a mere less than
7% increase in total IMD energy consumption, and less than 14 ms and 9 kB increase in system delay and
memory footprint, respectively
Zero-Power Defense Done Right: Shielding IMDs from Battery-Depletion Attacks
The wireless capabilities of modern Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) make them vulnerable to security attacks. One prominent attack, which has disastrous consequences for the patient’s wellbeing, is the battery Denial-of-Service attack whereby the IMD is occupied with continuous authentication requests from an adversary with the aim of depleting its battery. Zero-Power Defense (ZPD), based on energy harvesting, is known to be an excellent protection against these attacks. This paper raises essential design considerations for employing ZPD techniques in commercial IMDs, offers a critical review of ZPD techniques found in literature and, subsequently, gives crucial recommendations for developing comprehensive ZPD solutions
Tunable resonators for quantum circuits
We have designed, fabricated and measured high-Q coplanar
waveguide microwave resonators whose resonance frequency is made tunable with
magnetic field by inserting a DC-SQUID array (including 1 or 7 SQUIDs) inside.
Their tunability range is 30% of the zero field frequency. Their quality factor
reaches up to 3. We present a model based on thermal fluctuations
that accounts for the dependance of the quality factor with magnetic field.Comment: subm. to JLTP (Proc. of LTD12 conference
Large-amplitude driving of a superconducting artificial atom: Interferometry, cooling, and amplitude spectroscopy
Superconducting persistent-current qubits are quantum-coherent artificial
atoms with multiple, tunable energy levels. In the presence of large-amplitude
harmonic excitation, the qubit state can be driven through one or more of the
constituent energy-level avoided crossings. The resulting
Landau-Zener-Stueckelberg (LZS) transitions mediate a rich array of
quantum-coherent phenomena. We review here three experimental works based on
LZS transitions: Mach-Zehnder-type interferometry between repeated LZS
transitions, microwave-induced cooling, and amplitude spectroscopy. These
experiments exhibit a remarkable agreement with theory, and are extensible to
other solid-state and atomic qubit modalities. We anticipate they will find
application to qubit state-preparation and control methods for quantum
information science and technology.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018
Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe
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