Hemang Subramanian, director of the Master of Science in Information Systems program at FIU Business, has been awarded two new U.S. patents that can reshape the way we use two major players in the digital world: quick response (QR) codes and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
The patents, both granted in early 2025, aim to solve real-world technology challenges in healthcare and digital commerce. One patent can enable encrypting NFTs for storing healthcare or medical records, while the other can detect fraudulent QR codes, an increasingly common threat in cities like Miami.
“The inventions were driven by very specific problems I saw in the real world,” said Subramanian. “Healthcare data is often siloed, insecure or hard to access. Meanwhile QR code fraud has become rampant, especially in public spaces where unsuspecting users are easily misled.”
The first patent, granted in January, enables patient health records to be encrypted and stored as NFTs on a blockchain. Each token contains tamper-proof encrypted data allowing patients and providers to share sensitive medical information securely and with full traceability.
“The innovation here is using NFTs not as collectibles, but as secure digital containers for medical data,” said Subramanian. “It has potential to simplify record-sharing between providers while complying with privacy laws like HIPAA.”
Subramanian envisions hospitals, clinics and even insurance companies leveraging this technology to streamline patient care and lower administration costs. His team is exploring commercialization though FIU’s Startup FIU and partnerships with healthcare software developers.
The second patent tackles a more public-facing problem: the rise in QR code fraud, where scammers replace legitimate QR codes on parking meters, restaurant menus or public signs with malicious links.
In response, Subramanian developed a system that authenticates QR codes using a blockchain-backed reputation mechanism. The platform not only verifies a QR code’s origin but also tracks user feedback over time to build a trust score for each code.
“It’s essentially a fraud-detection system embedded in your phone or QR scanner,” he explained. “It can tell if a code is fake before you scan it, potentially saving consumers from phishing scams of financial threats.”
The idea stemmed from incidents in the City of Miami where officials removed QR codes from public parking systems due to widespread fraud. Subramanian’s solution uses a combination of blockchain data storage and deep analysis to flag suspicious codes.
The path to securing the patents took more than four years and involved FIU’s Office of Technology Management and Commercialization, patent attorney and industry evaluations. Both technologies are now part of FIU’s growing intellectual property portfolio.
“These aren’t just academic patents,” said Subramanian. “They solve immediate, high-impact problems, and the next step is to bring them to market.”
Subramanian is currently exploring licensing and start-up opportunities.
“There’s real commercial potential here,” he said. “We’re creating practical tools that can protect consumers, improve patient care and help businesses build trust in digital transactions.”