Reversible data hiding in encrypted DICOM images using sorted binary sequences of pixels

Abstract

In this paper, a novel reversible data hiding method for encrypted DICOM images is proposed. The method utilizes binary decomposition of the input data paired with a sorting process of the obtained binary sequences to ensure efficient data embedding in each predefined data block for specific most significant bit (MSB) planes while exploiting the properties of run-length encoding. The proposed scheme is lossless, and based on the receiver's privileges, allows separate or simultaneous recovery of the original and embedded data. The proposed method was originally designed for 16-bit DICOM images of monochrome photometric interpretation, however it can be used with any type of data while providing satisfactory results. A computer-based analysis has been carried out and simulation results for DICOM and non-DICOM images are shown at the end of this paper.