Holography and Medicine

Holography has emerged from the laboratory and is slowly becoming a useful tool in a variety of engineering and scientific areas. The potential exists for holography to serve as such a tool in medical and biological research. Holography can be used to form three-dimensional images. Three dimensionality is a consequence of the recording of phase information in the hologram. The presence of phase information in holographic images makes them extremely versatile and amenable to such a posteriori techniques as interferometry and dark-field imagery. Holography can also be used to analyze images, that is, to enhance image contrast and resolution, or to perform such functions as correlation analyses and pattern recognition. Moreover, the versatility of holography extends beyond the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum; holograms made with infrared, ultraviolet, microwave, or ultrasonic illumination, or ``synthetic´´ holograms made using a computer can be used to produce visible images or to analyze nonvisible images. The manner in which holography´s potential can be used in biomedical applications is discussed.