CovidBChain: Framework for access-control, authentication, and integrity of Covid-19 data.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Blockchain Technology
• Big Data Analytics

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical gaps in accessing and managing medical equipment and patient data.
• Lack of transparency and data integrity for resources like ventilators, ICU beds, and PPE poses significant challenges.
• Patients often face a 'black box' regarding essential medical information and equipment status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a blockchain-assisted framework, CovidBChain, for managing COVID-19 big data.
• To enhance the security, transparency, and integrity of electronic health records and medical equipment information.
• To address the volume, variety, and velocity of COVID-19 data.

Main Methods:

• Development of the CovidBChain framework utilizing blockchain technology.
• Integration of critical equipment status (ventilators, ICU beds, oxygen cylinders) as transactions.
• Simulation of a prototype using Ganache, Metamask, InterPlanetary File System, and Reactjs.
• Comparative analysis of Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Proof-of-Authority (PoA) demonstrated reduced upload and retrieval times compared to Proof-of-Work (PoW).
• Proof-of-Work (PoW) incurred higher transaction costs.
• Message exchange communication overhead was significantly reduced with PoA.

Conclusions:

• CovidBChain offers a robust solution for secure and transparent management of COVID-19 related data.
• The framework enhances data integrity and access control for critical medical resources.
• PoA consensus mechanism is more efficient for CovidBChain in terms of speed and communication overhead.