Chaos-Based Encryption System of DICOM Medical Images

The proliferation of digital medical imaging has ushered in unprecedented advancements in healthcare diagnostics and treatment planning. However, this digital era has also raised significant concerns regarding the security and privacy of sensitive medical image data, particularly in the context of the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard. In response to these concerns, this paper presents a novel Chaos-Driven Encryption (CDE) system designed to fortify the confidentiality and integrity of DICOM medical images. The CDE system harnesses chaotic systems' inherent unpredictability and complexity to create a robust encryption framework. Chaos-based encryption offers a formidable defence against conventional cryptographic attacks due to its nonlinearity and sensitivity to initial conditions. We propose a specific chaotic map and key management scheme tailored for DICOM images, ensuring that the encryption process remains secure and efficient. This paper comprehensively analyzes the CDE system, including its encryption process, key generation, and decryption procedure. We assess the security of CDE through extensive cryptographic analysis, demonstrating its resistance to known attacks and vulnerabilities. Moreover, we evaluate the computational performance of CDE in terms of encryption/decryption speed and resource utilization. Our experimental results highlight the feasibility and effectiveness of Chaos-Driven Encryption in safeguarding DICOM medical images against unauthorized access and tampering. By presenting this innovative encryption system, we contribute to the ongoing dialogue on healthcare data security and privacy, offering a promising solution for the protection of sensitive medical image information in the digital age.