Technology giant Xerox wants to patent a way to securely revise electronic documents using blockchain, public records show.

The company – perhaps best known for its eponymous copying machines – filed a pair of applications in February 2016, according to new records released by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The concept laid out in the applications envisions a network of nodes – all of which can share data via a blockchain – are creating and updating documentary records.

As for who might use the proposed system, Xerox suggests "regional hospital systems or multi-national corporations" might find it applicable to their needs.

One of the applications explain:

Notably, it's that first use case – healthcare – that Xerox has honed in on in the relatively few statements the firm has made on blockchain to date.

In a blog post published late last month, Ritesh Gandotra, director of global document outsourcing for Xerox India pointed to the tech as a potential platform for storing and exchange electronic health records.

"The current need of the industry is a solution that is not only innovative but also decentralised — a record management system that handles [electronic health records] using blockchain technology," she wrote.

Image Credit: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com