In a novel approach to healthcare infrastructure, researchers Francisco Angulo de Lafuente, Seid Mehammed Abdu, and Nirmal Tej from the University of Luxembourg have proposed a system called SiliconHealth. This blockchain-based healthcare infrastructure is designed to cater to resource-constrained regions, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. The team has found a unique way to repurpose obsolete Bitcoin mining hardware to create a secure, low-cost, and energy-efficient medical records system.
SiliconHealth employs a four-tier hierarchical network. At the top are regional hospitals equipped with high-performance Antminer S19 Pro devices. Urban health centers are outfitted with Antminer S9 devices, while rural clinics use Lucky Miner LV06 devices. Mobile health points are equipped with portable ASIC devices for on-the-go healthcare services. The system introduces a concept called Deterministic Hardware Fingerprinting (DHF), which repurposes SHA-256 mining ASICs as cryptographic proof generators. This ensures a 100% verification rate across various test proofs, providing a secure and tamper-proof system for medical records.
The researchers have also incorporated Reed-Solomon LSB watermarking for medical image authentication, which can tolerate 30-40% damage. This means that even if a part of the image is lost or corrupted, the system can still authenticate the image. Additionally, the system uses semantic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for intelligent medical record queries, making it easier for healthcare providers to find the information they need. Offline synchronization protocols have been included to handle intermittent connectivity, a common issue in resource-constrained regions.
The economic analysis of the system shows a 96% cost reduction compared to GPU-based alternatives. The total deployment cost for a rural clinic, including a 5-year solar power infrastructure, is estimated to be $847. This makes the system a cost-effective solution for regions where traditional healthcare IT infrastructure is economically unfeasible. Validation experiments on the Lucky Miner LV06 device achieved an efficiency of 2.93 MH/W, confirming the hardware’s universality.
The practical applications of this research for the energy sector are significant. The repurposing of obsolete Bitcoin mining hardware not only provides a sustainable solution for healthcare infrastructure but also addresses the issue of electronic waste. By extending the lifecycle of these devices, the system contributes to a circular economy, reducing the environmental impact of the energy sector. Furthermore, the integration of solar power infrastructure in the deployment cost highlights the potential for renewable energy solutions in resource-constrained regions.
The research was published in the journal IEEE Access, a highly respected publication in the field of engineering and technology. This work establishes a practical framework for deploying verifiable, tamper-proof electronic health records in regions where traditional healthcare IT infrastructure is economically unfeasible, potentially benefiting over 600 million people lacking access to basic health information systems.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.