Emergency Medical Hologram

For the EMH from theUSSVoyager, seeThe Doctor.

TheEmergency Medical Hologram orEMH is a sophisticatedholographic program used uponStarfleetstarships and facilities in the late24th century to assist medical staff in times of emergency. The program whose formal name isEMH Program AK-1 Diagnostic and Surgical Subroutine Omega-323 was developed byDoctorLewis Zimmerman onJupiter Station. (VOYepisodes: "Lifesigns", "The Cloud", "Projections", "Inside Man", "Life Line",DS9episode: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")

History and specifications[]

EMHs are programmed with five million possible treatments from the collective information of 2000 medical references and the experience of 47 individual medical officers, as well as having adaptive programming for situations outside of those in their database. EMHs are only meant to be used a temporary measure to assist existing medical staff, or in extreme cases, to temporarily replace them until a new doctor is assigned. (VOYepisodes: "Caretaker", "Future's End, Part I")

Mark I[]

Work on the EMH program began as far back as theyear2360 which was conducted byStarfleet Medical, though information on it was known only to a few individuals. (ST -The Lost Eranovel:Catalyst of Sorrows)

Zimmerman's initial proposal for an Emergency Medical Hologram was presented in2365 to DoctorBeverly Crusher,Chief medical officer of theUSSEnterprise-D. (VOYshort story: "Bedside Matters")

By the time the holographic matrix was completed in2370, it had to have official approval byLeonard McCoy. (TOS -Strange New Worlds IIshort story: "Doctors Three")

The Mark I EMH was modelled on Doctor Zimmerman, in both its physical characteristics and personality. This was considered a flaw in the program's design by many Starfleet medical personnel, including DoctorElizabeth Lense of theUSSLexington. (SCEeBook:War Stories, Book 1)

Lense later came to appreciate the Mark I EMH's lack of simulated emotionalism. (SCEeBook:Out of the Cocoon)

Starfleet thought the Mark I's personality was too abrasive. (DS9short story: "So a Horse Walks into a Bar...")

Given these reactions, the Mark I was quickly replaced on many ships by newer versions. (VOYepisode: "Life Line")

The existing Mark I EMHs were reprogrammed for more menial tasks, such as scrubbing plasma conduits and mining dilithium ore. (VOYepisode: "Author, Author")

Several Mark I EMHs continued to serve in their intended roles, including "The Doctor" of theUSSVoyager and the EMH on theUSSEquinox: both vessels being stranded in theDelta Quadrant, did not, of course, have access to upgraded versions. (VOYnovelization:Equinox)

A Mark I EMH also remained on theUSSEnterprise-E into2379, as Chief medical officer Doctor Beverly Crusher preferred it to later versions. Although Doctor Crusher had previously mentioned that she had sworn to never use the EMH. (TNGmovie:First Contact,TNG -A Time to...novel:A Time to Sow)

TheUSSDestiny also had a Mark I EMH. (DS9short story: "Second star to the right...")

The Soong Foundation discovered that more than 600 EMH Mark I models were put into servitude by Starfleet miningdilithium. Soong Foundation attorneyAlyssa Cogley-Shaw sued for an injunction for Starfleet to reveal the status of all of its holographic programs. She claimed this was the slavery of sentient lifeforms, but Starfleet appealed the injunction claiming that the Mark I models are photonic tools. (STOnovel:The Needs of the Many)

Later versions[]

TheEMH Mark II was programmed with new physical characteristics and to be a much more polite and friendly individual, although some felt it was too skittish. New starship classes such as thePrometheus-class were fitted with shipwide holographic projection systems so that EMHs could attend emergencies outside of sickbay. (VOYepisode: "Message in a Bottle",DS9short story: "So a Horse Walks into a Bar...")

TheEMH Mark III came into general use during the height of theDominion War, and included stringent security protocols. It also featured an improvement of its personality subroutine over the previous models. However, following the end of the war, these security measures came to be viewed as a hindrance to effective caregiving. (TNGnovel:Losing the Peace)

TheEMH Mark IV came into use in early2376, replacing the Mark III. (VOYepisode: "Life Line";TNGnovel:Losing the Peace)

TheEMH Mark VI usage was unknown though it was still in operation on starships by2409 as seen on theUSSKhitomer. This version had pale, blueish skin and a personality similar to that of the Mark I. (STvideo game:Star Trek Online)

TheEMH Mark IX was online by2380. This version looked like a young, female with strawberry-blonde hair, and could replicate herself as necessary. A Mark IX nicknamed "Nina" was active aboard theEnterprise in mid 2380. (TNGnovel:Greater Than the Sum)

Nina was often used following heavy combat, especially during theBorg Invasion of 2381. (ST -Destinynovel:Mere Mortals)

Following a refit in early2386, theUSSTitan was equipped with a Mark IX. (TTNnovel:Sight Unseen)

TheEMH Mark XI was in use by2381. (VOYnovel:Full Circle)

Appendices[]

Connections[]

Emergency holographic programs
emergency holograms	Command (ECH) •Conn (ECH) •Counseling (ECH) •Engineering (EEH) •Hospitality (EHH) •Medical (EMH) •Navigational (ENH) •Tactical (ETH) •Security (ESH) •Security Gorn (ESG)
related technology	Emergency Hologram basic installation •Emergency Medical Android (EMA) •Jupiter Station Diagnostic Program Alpha-11 •Long-term Medical Holographic program (LMH)

Photonic andholographic personnel
Emergency holographic programs	positions	Command (ECH) •Conn •Counseling •Engineering •Hospitality (EHH) •Medical (EMH) (25th centuryEMH Mk I) •Navigational (ENH) •R&D (Energy Weapons Officer •Matter-Antimatter Specialist •Quartermaster) •Security (ESH) (Security Gorn (ESG)) •Tactical (Holo Leeta) •Entertainment (Orion •Vulcan) •Hamlet programs •holographic bridge officers (TOS • DS9 • others) •holographic Exocomps (holographic combat drone) •Long-term Medical (LMH) •personal Karemma trader
	notable versions and variants	Medical Android (EMA) •Emmet •Emmett •Holo Leeta (Dabo Leeta •Mirror Admiral) •Diagnostic Program ("Dr. Zimmerman") •The Doctor •Medical Consultant Program (MCP, Beta-1) •Photonic Engineering Officer Candidate •Photonic Tactical Officer Candidate •Vic Fontaine •The Warden
notable templates	organic templates	Julian Bashir (LMH) •Leeta •Crell Moset (MCP) •Lewis Zimmerman (EMH • Diagnostic)
	synthetic templates	Exocomps •The Doctor (25th century EMH Mk I) •Vic Fontaine (Counseling)

External link[]

• Emergency Medical Hologram article atMemory Alpha, the wiki for canonStar Trek.