Starfleet Research and Development begins work on Emergency Medical Hologram update

GALOR IV – Medical and scientific personnel at the Galor IV Annex of the Daystrom Institute announced today that they have begun development on the next major update for Starfleet’s Emergency Medical Holographic (EMH) Program.

Doctor Lewis Zimmerman developed the EMH Program, originally activated in 2371. His team made three subsequent updates to the model, leading to the current Mark IV model in service since 2377, with both the original EMH and the Mark II developed by Zimmerman and his team at the Jupiter Station Holoprogramming Center. Starfleet Research and Development created the Mark III and Mark IV aboard Science Station 402 in coordination with the Felker Institute. An unfinished program to create a long-term version of the EMH was proposed but never completed.

“Starfleet Research and Development is confident in the ability of the Mark IV EMH. Our department also regularly updates the current model with modern medical data discovered in the last two decades,” clarified Lieutenant Harold Barton in response to questions at the press conference. “However, Starfleet believes that there is still room for improvement to make the Mark V the best version of the Emergency Medical Hologram to date.”

The involvement of the original development team was not addressed in the press conference, however, the Galor IV Annex will be the primary site for the development of the Mark V update.

Starfleet Medical officers have mixed feelings about the EMH program; some believe the holographic doctor is an excellent supplement for a trained physician in an emergency, while others dismiss the EMH and have no qualms about ignoring their ship’s equipped EMH whether or not there is an emergency. The most frequent criticism of the program by physicians is the lack of proper bedside manner that a sentient doctor can provide for a patient. Each version of the program has attempted to address this issue, to varying degrees of success.

The specific improvements the Mark V will provide will not be clear until much later in the development cycle.

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About Amanda Woodward

Amanda Woodward is a human reporter for the Federation News Service. After attending the University of Alpha Centauri and graduating with a degree in media studies, she became a junior reporter for the Centauri Times, where she worked on a variety of projects from sports coverage to investigative reports on local government. She lives in Armstrong City, Luna.

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