Table Of Contents

• What is hologram technology?

• How do holograms work?

• Application of hologram technology in healthcare

• Advantages of hologram technology in healthcare

• Disadvantages of hologram technology 

• Take home points

• FAQs on 4-D Hologram Technology

What is Hologram Technology?

A hologram refers to the 3-D images formed by the interfering beams of light which reflect real physical objects. The formed 3-D images preserve parallax, depth, and other properties of the physical object, thus making it an excellent tool for understanding complex technical concepts quickly. 

Holography, also known as hologram technology, is a photography method in which a laser records a 3-D object and restores it precisely to match the recorded object. When lasers illuminate, holograms produce a 3-D copy of the recorded object with the same features. The formed image can be viewed from any angle and appear realistic. Holography depends on four components: the recorded object, the laser or the light source, a recording medium, and an environment where the hologram forms by the intersection of light beams.

The last decades have seen numerous advancements in holography so that an actual physical object is not required; instead, digital files and graphics are enough to form the holograms. We live in a world where cardiologists use 4-D hologram technology to perform heart procedures.

4-D holograms are a recent advancement in hologram technology. Conventional holograms produce three-dimensional images, that is, images with height, width, and depth. But 4-D holograms make images in 4- dimensional spacetime; that is, it adds the dimension of time to the other three dimensions.

How do Holograms Work?

A hologram is a permanent record of light encapsulated in 3-D objects like a mirror or glass. The hologram has two beams; an object beam and a reference beam. A half mirror diverts the beams, and the beam converges, forming a hologram using two full mirrors. Holography in healthcare uses software, hardware, and other programming tools to create 3-D images for teaching, learning, planning, and performing complex surgeries. 

Hologram technology records the light scattered from the object to present the object in a 3-D image. The scattering of the laser beam forms numerous light waves which can illuminate the object and create its image by the principle of diffraction. A video camera records the image in 3-D format, and a 3-D glass projects the hologram. 

Application of Hologram Technology in Healthcare:

Though hologram technology has numerous applications, the primary field of application is healthcare. Hologram technology uses the patient’s digital data to develop multidimensional holograms for students, training doctors, and surgeons, thus improving the quality of medical education and research. 

Holograms are helpful for medical diagnostics, radiology, surgical planning, and obtaining detailed information about various tissues and organs. The recorded images of the tissues and organs can be viewed from different angles, simplifying complex treatment procedures. The capability of hologram technology to record high-resolution images and measurements of human body parts and organs without direct contact opens new possibilities in healthcare.

Holography produces colorful, multidimensional images or holograms. Experts use the hologram to study the nervous, vascular, and skeletal systems without cutting into the human body. The holograms can be zoomed in and edited for convenience, which makes the treatment and diagnosis more effective. Moreover, holography technology can monitor various infections, the functioning of hard and soft tissues, and check drugs, hormones, glucose, etc.

In 2021, cardiologists in CentraCare Heart and Vascular Center, Minnesota, completed the first 4-d hologram technology-guided structural heart procedure in the world. The cardiologist performed a Watchman transcatheter left atrial appendage (LAA) occluder implant in a patient with atrial fibrillation who needed alternatives to blood thinners. EchoPixel developed this 4-D hologram technology to reduce the procedure time, improve accuracy, and reduce the chance of human errors. In cardiology, the 4-D hologram technology helps in heart valve replacements, therapy of arrhythmias, and coronary interventions. 4-D hologram technology provides fast growth in healthcare infrastructures and new possibilities in emergency medical care.

Advantages of Hologram Technology in Healthcare:

Hologram technology has a high potential to import and use high-capacity data, which allows storing information about multiple images at various angles—this feature of hologram technology and its various benefits makes it a popular advancement in the healthcare field.

1. Improves the way of medical procedures and treatment

The new hologram technology can produce realistic virtual images of hard and soft tissues. These realistic images help to plan treatment and medical procedures in a contactless manner.

2. Store patients’ medical records

Holography is an innovative imaging technique that digitally stores all the patient's medical records, thus allowing the doctors to access the patient's medical history at any time. 

3. 3-D or 4-D visualization of the human body or the parts

Holography provides colorful, multidimensional images of the various organs and tissues of the human body. The hologram allows doctors to see the anatomy of the human body without making any incisions. The hologram lets the doctor see the organ directly in 3-D or 4-D and rotate, explore, and slice the hologram in real-time. 

4. No loss of depth information of the object as in conventional 3-D imaging techniques

Imaging techniques like MRI, CT, and ultrasound collect volumetric images but are displayed on a 2-D screen resulting in the loss of depth information of the object. 

5. Holograms do not need projection screens or special glasses to see and be seen from any angle.

6. High storage capacity 

Hologram technology has high storage capacity compared to other methods.

7. Multiple images, including 3-D images, can be created on a single plate.

Disadvantages of Hologram Technology:

Though hologram technology has numerous applications in various fields, including healthcare, it has some limitations too.

1. Requires highly skilled personnel

Hologram technology is not as common as other imaging techniques and requires highly skilled personnel to create holograms.

2. Expensive

Holograms are costlier than conventional 2-D imaging techniques.

Hologram technology requires expensive hardware and software to produce and view multidimensional human body images. 

3. Time-consuming

Creating a hologram is time-consuming and requires skilled personnel and expensive software and hardware. Hologram technology is not successful in times of complex movements.

4. Need high storage space

Though hologram technology can solve complex issues by providing a virtual environment, it requires high storage space. 

Take-Home Points

• A hologram refers to the 3-D images of physical objects that preserve the actual object's parallax, depth, and other properties. The formed image can be viewed and scaled according to the user’s convenience, thus making it an excellent tool for understanding complex technical concepts quickly.

•  Holograms have numerous applications, including healthcare. 4-D hologram technology is a new advancement capable of guiding doctors to carry out heart procedures. The ability of hologram technology to record high-resolution images and measurements of human body parts and organs without direct contact helps students, training doctors, and surgeons, thus improving the quality of treatment, medical education, and research. 

• Holograms provide more information than conventional 2-D imaging techniques like CT, MRI, and Ultrasound and do not require special glasses or projection screens. But, it requires expensive software, hardware, high storage space, and skilled personnel to create holograms of human body parts. 

References

Holography applications toward medical field

Hologram the future of medicine

Digital holography and its multidimensional imaging applications