A Biomechatronic Approach to Evaluating the Security of Wearable Devices in the Internet of Medical Things

TL;DR

This paper introduces a security framework for wearable medical devices in the IoMT, focusing on safeguarding data and ensuring reliable operation amidst cyber threats, with experimental validation on infusion pumps.

Contribution

It presents a novel security architecture tailored for wearable infusion pumps, addressing computational constraints and evaluating its effectiveness through extensive testing.

Findings

Maximum infusion rate error of 2.5%

Security architecture tested with up to 100 users

Practical challenges and initial solutions discussed

Abstract

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by reducing human error and improving patient health. For instance, wearable smart infusion pumps can accurately administer medication and integrate with electronic health records. These pumps can alert healthcare professionals or remote servers when an operation fails, preventing distressing incidents. However, as the number of connected medical devices increases, so does the risk of cyber threats. Wearable medication devices based on IoT attached to patients' bodies are particularly vulnerable to significant cyber threats. Since they are connected to the internet, these devices can be exposed to potential harm, which can disrupt or degrade device performance and harm patients. Therefore, it is crucial to establish secure data authentication for internet-connected medical devices to ensure patient safety and well-being. It is also important to note that the wearability option of such devices might downgrade the computational resources, making them more susceptible to security risks. We propose implementing a security approach for a wearable infusion pump to mitigate cyber threats. We evaluated the proposed architecture with 20, 50, and 100 users for 10 minutes and repeated the evaluation 10 times with two infusion settings, each repeated five times. The desired volumes and rates for the two settings were 2 ml and 4 ml/hr and 5 ml and 5 ml/hr, respectively. The maximum error in infusion rate was measured to be 2.5%. We discuss the practical challenges of implementing such a security-enabled device and suggest initial solutions.