Biobanking: IoT, safety challenges and security prospects.

Area of Science:

• Biobanking and Life Sciences
• Information Technology in Healthcare
• Data Security and Management

Background:

• Biobanks are vital for life science research, storing biological samples and data.
• Information and communication technologies, like the Internet of Things (IoT), are improving biobank resource management.
• Existing biobank management platforms leverage IoT sensors for metadata collection and storage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an in-depth review of advancements and challenges in implementing IoT in biobanking.
• To describe IoT's contributions to real-time sample tracking, traceability, and process automation.
• To propose a reference architecture integrating IoT with security, interoperability, and scalability best practices.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of IoT implementation in biobanking.
• Analysis of security challenges, including data theft and unauthorized access.
• Development of a reference architecture for connected biobanking systems.

Main Results:

• IoT significantly improves real-time sample tracking, traceability, and automation in biobanks.
• A lack of unified security presents a substantial threat to connected biobanking systems.
• Blockchain and artificial intelligence show promise for enhancing biobank data protection.

Conclusions:

• Implementing IoT in biobanking offers numerous benefits but requires robust IT security mechanisms.
• A proposed reference architecture integrates IoT with best practices for security, interoperability, and scalability.
• Further research is needed on blockchain and AI for securing biological data in IoT-enabled biobanks.