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. 2011 Jun;24(3):528-40.
doi: 10.1007/s10278-010-9295-4.

Security protection of DICOM medical images using dual-layer reversible watermarking with tamper detection capability

Chun Kiat Tan  1 , Jason Changwei Ng, Xiaotian Xu, Chueh Loo Poh, Yong Liang Guan, Kenneth Sheah
Affiliations

Security protection of DICOM medical images using dual-layer reversible watermarking with tamper detection capability

Chun Kiat Tan et al. J Digit Imaging. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Teleradiology applications and universal availability of patient records using web-based technology are rapidly gaining importance. Consequently, digital medical image security has become an important issue when images and their pertinent patient information are transmitted across public networks, such as the Internet. Health mandates such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act require healthcare providers to adhere to security measures in order to protect sensitive patient information. This paper presents a fully reversible, dual-layer watermarking scheme with tamper detection capability for medical images. The scheme utilizes concepts of public-key cryptography and reversible data-hiding technique. The scheme was tested using medical images in DICOM format. The results show that the scheme is able to ensure image authenticity and integrity, and to locate tampered regions in the images.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Illustration of embedding and extraction of message. a Embedding b Extracting.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Illustration of block-by-block CRC embedding.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Dual-layer watermarking scheme.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Original image (left column) compared with watermarked images (right column). a Original CT image b watermarked CT image, c original XA image, d Watermarked XA image, e original US image (f) Watermarked US image.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Test images results using the tamper localization function. a Original mammogram image, b tampered mammogram by adding tumor like feature, c image displaying localization of tampering, d original MR knee image e tampered MR image by modifying femoral cartilage thickness, f image displaying localization of tampering.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
Tamper detection results of tampered XA images.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.
An illustration of how the proposed scheme could fit into the overall PACS. This infrastructure is based on the image security system proposed by Cao et al..
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), March 2009. [Online]. Available at: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html
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