Applications of 6G in the healthcare sector and the importance of network security and data privacy-encryption of medical images using the SHA 256 blockchain algorithm
S. N. Kumar, Jomin Joy, I. Christina Jane, Alan James, Siju John, Eduard Babulak · 2025
Ensuring network security and data privacy in the healthcare sector within the context of 6G technology is of paramount importance. As 6G promises advanced connectivity and capabilities, this chapter discusses challenges for safeguarding patient information and healthcare systems. 6G technology is poised to bring about groundbreaking changes in the healthcare sector with its lightning-fast speeds, minimal latency, and advanced capabilities. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) will flourish with 6G, enabling constant monitoring through wearables, smart implants, and sensors, ensuring real-time data transmission to healthcare providers. 6G’s robust data rates support holographic imaging, revolutionizing medical imaging, diagnostics, and surgical planning by offering detailed three-dimensional insights. 6G combined with AI can expedite and refine medical diagnoses by swiftly processing large volumes of healthcare data, empowering healthcare professionals with more informed decisions. It can support immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences for patient education, therapy, and medical training, enhancing patient care and training methods. It expedites drug discovery through swift data analysis, simulations, and efficient research collaboration among institutions and researchers globally. 6G empowers smart, interconnected hospitals with real-time monitoring of patients, staff, and equipment, leading to improved efficiency and patient care. The SHA 256 blockchain encryption model was employed in this chapter for the encryption of medical images. The validation of the encryption model was done by performance metrics.