Online Encyclopedia
Emergency Medical Hologram
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Emergency Medical Hologram or EMH is a holographic program intended to support or replace medical personnel aboard a Starfleet vessel or installation in case of emergency. The EMH was most commonly seen on the series Star Trek: Voyager. The program also made appearances on sister show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the movie Star Trek: First Contact.
The EMH was created by Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, with assistance from Lt. Reginald Barclay. It possesses one of the Federation's most extensive medical databases, containing information from over 3,000 cultures and the personal experiences of 47 specific surgeons. The program itself is built on an adaptive heuristic matrix, pioneered by Dr. Zimmerman, which allows the EMH programs to learn and adapt quickly to new situations.
Four versions of the EMH series have been created to date, the Mark I, II, III and IV. While the status of the latter three incarnations is unknown, the Mark I programs, based on Dr. Zimmerman himself and possessing his short temper and numerous other character flaws, failed to live up to Starfleet expectations and was re-assigned to menial labour. Nicknames for the Mark I's include 'Emergency Medical Hotheads' and 'Extremely Marginal Housecalls'.
Only two Mark I's escaped this fate: The EMH's of the USS Voyager and the USS Equinox, both of which were stranded in the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. Of these two, only Voyager's EMH, known as the Doctor, survived. With a total run-time of approximately 10 years, he is the oldest EMH known to be in existence.
While spending some time in the 20th century, Voyager's EMH received a mobile emitter, a piece of 29th century technology that allows him to move freely anywhere.
His character's growth and gradual humanisation throughout Star Trek Voyager provided one of the more compelling arcs in the series, eventually repeated with Seven of Nine in later seasons.
Dr. Zimmerman has also been involved in a project to create a longer-running version of the EMH, the Long-term Medical Hologram. The status of this project is unknown following the discovery that Dr. Julian Bashir, the man selected to be the template for the LMH, was genetically enhanced.