Mapping Knowledge and Themes Trends in the Cybersecurity of Medical Devices: A Bibliometric Investigation

ABSTRACTThe cybersecurity of medical devices has gained a high priority among health technology professionals. As researchers and scientists continue to discover new uses for innovative devices, their numbers are steadily growing. These devices (and systems of devices) perform increasingly complex functions and are mostly software or computer-based. To improve efficiency and reliability, more devices are being integrated into larger hospital networks or even outside of them. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the current state of medical device cybersecurity research by identifying key authors, institutions, and journal publishers, key concepts, methodologies, and technologies that are often discussed in the context of medical devices. The current study is a bibliometric analysis. The Scopus database related to the cyber security of medical devices was searched. MS Excel (Office-365), VOS viewer (version 1.6.18), and Biblioshiny (version 4.2.2) were utilized for the analysis and visualization of the selected documents. A total of 267 related documents were found in the first search. 122 inclusive articles showed the majority of work in this field has been done in the United States (US), with a total of 56 highly cited publications. India and the United Kingdom (UK) with emerging technology hubs, ranked second and third in this technology race, respectively. Kevin Fu is cited most frequently, with an average of 44.5 citations per publication. The analysis revealed a significant increase in research output in the past decade, indicating a growing concern and awareness regarding cybersecurity issues in medical devices. This trend underscores the recognition of the potential risks associated with these devices. Collective efforts must be made to improve the safety of medical devices and ensure the safety of health technologies in general by addressing identified research topics and trends, collaborating within existing networks, and considering policy and regulatory implications.KEYWORDS: Bibliometric studycybersecuritymedical devicespatient safetyprivacy of data AcknowledgmentsThe authors acknowledge the valuable insights provided by the scholarly community whose articles have been cited and referenced in this manuscript. They express gratitude to the authors, editors, and publishers of the articles, journals, and books that were reviewed and discussed while conducting the literature review for this article.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Consent for publicationEach author agrees to the publication of personally identifiable information contained in the submission in the Journal.CRediT author statementOthman A Alfahad*: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software Tanzeel Ur Rehman*: Methodology, Software, Data curation, Writing- Original draft preparation. Alexander Woodman: Validation, writing – reviewing, editing Emad Abdulhadi Malaekah: Data visualization Mohammad Rasheed: Supervision.Additional informationFundingThe authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.