Securing Medical Images using Compression techniques with encryption and Image Steganography

Medical imaging is an essential component of the healthcare sector, enabling the transfer of medical images between widely separated locations to improve healthcare business practices. However, the transmission of medical images across public networks can result in several security concerns, including those related to authentication, integrity, and confidentiality. Therefore, the major goal of this research is to ensure the security and accuracy of medical images by maintaining their confidentiality and integrity. This proposed method aims to enhance the security of medical images during their transmission across public networks. The method involves three main steps: compression, encryption, and embedding To achieve the goal of maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of medical images, this research utilizes a multi-step process. First, the medical image undergoes compression using the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) technique to reduce its size and eliminate any noise. Following this, the compressed image is encrypted using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm to ensure confidentiality. Finally, the encrypted image is securely enclosed within a cover image using the Least Significant Bit (LSB) steganographic technique to create a stego image. This technique ensures that the encrypted image is seamlessly incorporated within the cover image, without any visible or perceptible changes. This method ensures that the medical image remains confidential and maintains its integrity throughout the transmission process. Furthermore, this study developed the aforementioned technique, and the experimental outcomes were compared using MATLAB to hide medical images without encryption using LSB steganography as an additional layer of security. This study analyzed multiple medical image formats, including DICOM, TIFF, BMP, and JPEG. The findings indicate that combining encryption and steganography techniques provides improved results in terms of PSNR and MSE values, as contrasted to utilizing steganography alone.