Energy-efficient security in implantable medical devices

In this paper a survey of selected topics concerning development of wireless sensor network systems formed by implantable medical devices (IMDs) located on the patient's body are presented and discussed. The focus is on security aspects and effective management of power resources available in implanted sensors. Implantable medical devices are very sensitive to the energy constraints. Moreover, most applications of IMDs require protection against injection or modification of disseminated measurements. Therefore, the transmission between IMDs and external devices, which aim is to monitor and control of IMDs has to be protected. The approaches to provide a security and ensure a privacy during monitoring, controlling, drug disposition and implant identification are discussed. The concept of novel energy-efficient security system for wearable devices to monitor the patient's health is presented in the final part of this paper.