Privacy-Preserving Reversible Data Hiding for Medical Images Employing Local Rotation.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Information Security
• Digital Forensics

Background:

• Increasing digitalization of medical records raises concerns about patient data privacy and security.
• Secure covert communication is crucial for protecting sensitive electronic medical record (EMR) information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel reversible data hiding method for medical images.
• To enhance the security of electronic medical records through covert data embedding.
• To maintain high visual quality of medical images after data hiding.

Main Methods:

• A reversible data hiding method based on pixel rotation is proposed.
• A state mapping model is constructed using pixel rotation to represent the data payload.
• Payload bits are embedded in regular image blocks, prioritizing smoother blocks to preserve visual quality.

Main Results:

• The proposed method achieves better visual quality for stego-medical-images compared to existing methods.
• An average Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) of 47.0307 dB was recorded, indicating high fidelity.
• The method effectively conceals data while minimizing visual distortion.

Conclusions:

• The novel pixel rotation-based reversible data hiding method offers a secure solution for protecting patient information in medical images.
• The technique balances data security with the preservation of image visual quality.
• This method contributes to secure covert communication in the context of digitalized healthcare.