Integrating AI and blockchain technology to enhance healthcare access and ensure data sovereignty for displaced individuals.
Coach Name
Jordi Bosch i Garcia
EU Organization
Hora eV
Members
- Sarra-Maryam Fezzani
- Manuel Knott
- Mengstu Fentaw
CA Organization
Juris Canada
Members
- Karim Fezzani
Project Overview
LeLink addresses a critical gap in global healthcare systems: refugees and displaced populations often lack access to reliable, portable, and secure medical records, especially in crisis situations where infrastructure is disrupted.
The project introduces a decentralized healthcare platform combining blockchain and AI, enabling individuals to securely store, control, and share their medical data across borders. This ensures tamper-proof records, data sovereignty, and compliance with international standards such as GDPR and PIPEDA.
LeLink also integrates AI-driven triage capabilities, allowing early assessment of medical conditions and prioritization of urgent cases—even before reaching healthcare professionals.
Designed for use in humanitarian and low-resource environments, the platform supports interoperable, cross-border healthcare access, improving response times, reducing medical errors, and empowering vulnerable populations with control over their health data.
Methods and approaches
Blockchain-Based Health Data Sovereignty and Interoperability
LeLink uses blockchain technology to create secure, tamper-proof, and user-controlled medical records, ensuring that individuals retain ownership of their data.
The system enables:
- Cross-border access to health records for refugees and displaced individuals
- Interoperability between healthcare providers and institutions
- Compliance with legal frameworks such as GDPR and PIPEDA
This approach ensures trust, transparency, and continuity of care, even in fragmented or crisis-affected systems.
Human-Centred Design with AI-Driven Triage and Field Validation
The project integrates AI-based triage functionality to support early diagnosis and prioritization in emergency contexts, improving efficiency in overwhelmed healthcare systems.
At the same time, LeLink adopts a human-centred and interdisciplinary design approach, including:
- Interviews with refugees, NGOs, and healthcare professionals
- Scenario-based testing in simulated crisis environments
- Integration of social sciences, legal frameworks, and ethical considerations
This ensures the solution is usable, culturally sensitive, and aligned with real-world needs in humanitarian contexts.
Key Achievements
Development of a working prototype platform integrating blockchain and AI for healthcare access.
Validation of key technological assumptions, including interoperability, AI triage, and blockchain suitability.
Completion of a full technical architecture and user interface prototype (Figma).
Successful proof-of-concept testing in a simulated refugee crisis environment.
Validation of GDPR and PIPEDA compliance through legal analysis.
Demonstration of platform scalability across EU and Canada environments through stress testing.
Impact & Results
Scientific Impact
LeLink demonstrates the effective integration of blockchain and AI in digital health, addressing real-world challenges in data interoperability, secure data sharing, and crisis response. The project contributes to advancing research in decentralized healthcare systems and user-centric data management.
Societal Impact
The platform empowers refugees and displaced individuals by giving them control over their medical data, improving trust, dignity, and access to healthcare services. It reduces delays, avoids redundant medical procedures, and supports better health outcomes in vulnerable populations.
Economic Impact
LeLink creates opportunities for cost reduction in healthcare and humanitarian operations, improving efficiency in medical data handling and reducing administrative burdens. It also opens pathways for innovation in digital health and cross-border service delivery.
Publications and Open-Source Contributions
- Open-source LeLink platform prototype and codebase (GitHub)
- Technical architecture and system documentation
- Compliance documentation (GDPR & PIPEDA)
- Internal documentation including validation logs and stakeholder insights
Future directions