BLOCKCHAIN FOR REAL-TIME HEALTHCARE DATA ACQUISITION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF SENSOR NETWORK APPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

This systematic review investigates the integration of blockchain technology with healthcare sensor networks to support secure, real-time data acquisition in clinical and remote monitoring settings. The convergence of blockchain with sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) systems has emerged as a promising approach to address persistent challenges related to data integrity, security, interoperability, and traceability in digital healthcare environments. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a total of 86 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2024 were systematically selected, evaluated, and synthesized. The findings reveal that blockchain enhances the integrity of sensor-generated health data through immutable recordkeeping, cryptographic validation, and decentralized consensus mechanisms. The use of smart contracts further enables automated access control, consent management, and secure data sharing among healthcare stakeholders. Additionally, the review highlights the role of edge and fog computing in addressing blockchain’s scalability and latency limitations, enabling efficient local validation and real-time responsiveness. Applications of blockchain-integrated health sensor systems were observed across critical care domains such as intensive care units, cardiovascular monitoring, and diabetes management, where continuous and tamper-proof data tracking is essential for clinical decision-making. Despite these advancements, the review identifies ongoing challenges, particularly in achieving system-wide interoperability with existing healthcare IT infrastructures and ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations like HIPAA and GDPR. Limitations related to energy consumption and consensus efficiency also remain critical barriers to widespread deployment, especially in resource-constrained and mobile environments. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on decentralized healthcare technologies by mapping the current landscape of blockchain-sensor integration and offering actionable insights for researchers, developers, healthcare institutions, and policy-makers. The review concludes that blockchain, when carefully designed and implemented, presents a robust framework for enhancing trust, transparency, and resilience in real-time health data acquisition.