US Navy to pilot blockchain-based project to improve medical supply lines

Consensus Networks uses the IoTeX blockchain to monitor the health of 700,000 U.S. Navy sailors and marines in real time.

The United States military continues to explore blockchain technology to improve its processes. The U.S. Navy has signed a $1.5 million contract with Consensus Networks to develop a blockchain-enabled logistics system named HealthNet back in May. The project, built on IoT-focused blockchain IoTeX, is halfway complete, counting the days for its pilot scheduled for early 2022.

According to the information shared with Cointelegraph, Consensus Networks aims to provide real-time monitoring and logistics for nearly 700,000 sailors and marines via the HealthNet platform. The developer picked the IoTex blockchain to meet the security and scalability requirements of the Navy.

Nathan Miller, the CEO and founder of Consensus Networks, said that the project is 50% complete, and the U.S. Navy is pleased with the progress so far. He added that the Navy would “participate along with other partners who are interested in the blockchain-powered HealthNet.”

Pilot programs to improve the outdated and inefficient systems include medical logistics, the demand for pharmaceuticals, prediction of blood product demand, and supply of prostheses and medical equipment.

Miller predicted that the medical industry is poised to renew its systems with blockchain-based solutions, adding:

“It is hard to believe that today automobile manufacturers, such as Ford, have a better network for ensuring the health of their vehicles in the shop or on the road than the medical sector has to monitor and safeguard the health of people.”

HealthNet is not a Navy-exclusive project, Miller underscored. It would help medical operators utilize an integrated data environment and an interface to track medical suppliers from manufacturer to patient in order to reduce delivery time and waste.

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“For example, it will be great for elderly homes by helping them with better care without driving or being driven to a healthcare facility,” Miller explained. “The system will help track their health and predict their needs and get them sorted, so they do not have to visit clinics.”

The U.S. military has previously experimented with blockchain technology. The. Air Force was one of the first branches to make a contract with a blockchain startup. The U.S. Navy then granted Simba Chain $10 million to develop a secure messaging platform. Simba received another $1.5 million in 2021 to create a blockchain-based solution to enable demand sensing for critical military weaponry parts.