Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have developed a secure medical data and information exchange system for use in Android-based smartphones, officials said on Friday.

The 'BlockTrack' application, said to be the first of its kind blockchain-based secure medical data and information exchange system, is currently under field trials, IIT Madras said in a press release.

The project was signed under the corporate social responsibility initiative of IT giant Infosys last year.

"The BlockTrack (application) aims to securely digitise healthcare information systems while ensuring the protection of sensitive personal information and medical records by decentralising the control and ownership of patient data," the release said.

The Android-based application has been developed separately for patients and doctors. It allows the interoperability of systems for use from multiple hospitals and institutes.

The BlockTrack has been developed by a team led by the department of mechanical engineering, Centre for Nondestructive Evaluation, lead-faculty professor Prabhu Rajagopal.

Commenting on the unique aspects of the project, Rajagopal said, "BlockTrack is an exciting project that depicts engineering innovations that have the disruptive potential to transform multiple domains. This is one of the first implementations of blockchain technology for securing healthcare data management systems and we see the immense impact this approach can make in securely digitizing and maintaining unique patient records across the country."

Principal scientific adviser to the government, professor K VijayRaghavan congratulated the IIT Madras team for developing an innovative solution for a complex health information system. "This will enhance and enable the efforts of health systems to efficiently track disease spread and maintain confidentiality," he said.