Abstract
The Metaverse, a virtual world created by the internet's evolution, has blurred the lines between the physical and virtual worlds. Blockchain technology and digital twins have emerged as innovative solutions to this digital transformation. This chapter explores the synergy between blockchain technology and digital twins in healthcare data management within the Metaverse. The primary objective is to develop a privacy-aware biometric blockchain system that preserves, authenticates, and verifies healthcare data in real-time. This study pioneers a paradigm shift in healthcare data management, leveraging the transformative potential of the Metaverse. A comprehensive literature study was conducted to understand the evolution of the internet, blockchain technology, and digital twins. The results demonstrate the transformative potential of the proposed privacy preservation in metaverse healthcare data management.
TopIntroduction
This chapter aims to improve the effectiveness of current healthcare data by introducing a privacy-aware biometric Blockchain-based system for Metaverse healthcare data. The proposed solution utilizes the potential of blockchain technology to construct an immutable real-world healthcare data digital twin, which allows the application of machine learning and extensive data analysis to real-world healthcare data. In the ever-evolving digital technology landscape, the fusion of World Wide Web advancements and the transformative power of blockchain technology has ushered us into a new era – the Metaverse. Over the past three decades, the internet has dissolved physical barriers and woven the fabric of our lives into the digital realm. Today, the Metaverse, an intricate digital twin of our reality, emerges as a frontier where the lines between the real and the virtual blur, offering unprecedented opportunities and challenges. In this chapter, we delve deep into the heart of this convergence, exploring the amalgamation of cutting-edge technologies – the World Wide Web, Blockchain, and the concept of digital twins – to revolutionize healthcare data management within the Metaverse. As the boundaries between physical and virtual worlds become indistinct, a critical need arises: safeguarding the privacy and integrity of healthcare data. Traditional healthcare systems face inefficiencies; our research pioneers a groundbreaking solution within this context. The chapter unfolds in a structured manner, first laying the foundation by elucidating the evolution of the internet from its nascent stages to the Metaverse. We navigate the pivotal technological moments, emphasizing how these developments have paved the way for our current exploration. With a firm understanding of the technical backdrop, we transition into the core concepts: blockchain technology and digital twins. The spotlight then shifts to the genesis of our proposal. This novel approach marries the privacy-preserving capabilities of Blockchain with the transformative potential of digital twins in healthcare data management. Blockchain is a new kind of shared database that makes it possible to build an open, trustless network where nobody in particular checks information before it's shared. This system has the potential to revolutionize various industries, such as healthcare. We dissect the intricacies of our privacy-aware biometric Blockchain system, explaining its inner workings, from autonomous execution via atomic smart contracts to immutable record-keeping on the Blockchain. Intelligent contracts in healthcare have been linked to better patient treatment and lower overall healthcare expenses. Smart contracts allow more accurate and efficient data collection, reducing the need for expensive healthcare facilities and equipment. At the heart of our exploration lies a central argument: the fusion of blockchain technology and digital twins in healthcare data management not only resolves existing inefficiencies but also pioneers a future where healthcare data is not merely stored but meticulously preserved, authenticated, and verified in real-time within the Metaverse. Our argument extends further, contending that this innovative approach is not just a leap in efficiency but a paradigm shift in how we perceive and manage healthcare data.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Blockchain: Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that ensures every transaction on the network is recorded securely, publicly, and permanently. The data is guaranteed to be accurate and unchangeable once a block is put into the chain since any changes must be made to all subsequent blocks.
Metaverse: The Metaverse is an online environment that merges elements of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and the internet. It's a virtual world where people may hang around, do different things, and interact with computer-generated landscapes. The Metaverse encompasses everything in cyberspace, not just specific simulated environments.
Management of Health Information System: Healthcare data management encompasses the systematic organization, storage, retrieval, and use of healthcare-related information. It involves processing patient records, medical histories, diagnostic data, and other healthcare-related information to ensure data accuracy, accessibility, and security.
Digital Twin: When referring to digital representations of physical objects, systems, or processes, the phrase “digital twin” is often used. Real-time monitoring, analysis, and simulation are made possible by these digital models of physical things. There may be digital duplicates of anything from individual patients to individual pieces of medical equipment to whole healthcare networks.