Cytocoded passwords: BioMEMS based barcoding of biological samples for user authentication in microfluidic diagnostic...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cybersecurity in Healthcare
• Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Background:

• Connected point-of-care (POC) devices improve diagnostics but pose significant patient data security risks.
• Protecting patient privacy against cyber-physical attacks requires advanced solutions, particularly at the BioMEMS level.
• Secure authentication is critical for medical diagnostics to prevent data exposure and negative social consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a transparent authentication mechanism for impedance flow cytometry POC devices.
• To relieve users of cumbersome security procedures during medical testing.
• To provide unique identifiers for remote storage of test results, enhancing data integrity and privacy.

Main Methods:

• A domain-specific authentication method for impedance flow cytometry devices was developed.
• Synthetic micro-beads of varying sizes and concentrations were added to blood samples.
• These micro-beads generate a unique authentication string for each test result.

Main Results:

• The micro-bead-generated authentication strings serve as unique identifiers for remote data storage.
• This method offers a secure alternative to traditional authentication methods like passwords.
• The system effectively removes the authentication burden from the user.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method enhances patient privacy by decoupling personal information from test results.
• It provides a transparent and secure authentication process for connected POC diagnostics.
• This approach addresses critical security vulnerabilities in smart medical devices.