Secure information embedding into 1D biomedical signals based on SPIHT

This paper proposes an encoding system for 1D biomedical signals that allows embedding metadata and provides security and privacy. The design is based on the analysis of requirements for secure and efficient storage, transmission and access to medical tests in e-health environment. This approach uses the 1D SPIHT algorithm to compress 1D biomedical signals with clinical quality, metadata embedding in the compressed domain to avoid extra distortion, digital signature to implement security and attribute-level encryption to support Role-Based Access Control. The implementation has been extensively tested using standard electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram databases (MIT-BIH Arrhythmia, MIT-BIH Compression and SCCN-EEG), demonstrating high embedding capacity (e.g. 3 KB in resting ECGs, 200 KB in stress tests, 30 MB in ambulatory ECGs), short delays (2-3.3s in real-time transmission) and compression of the signal (by ≃3 in real-time transmission, by ≃5 in offline operation) despite of the embedding of security elements and metadata to enable e-health services.