UK Biobank completes world's largest full-body scanning project

In a remarkable achievement that is already impacting on how we detect and diagnose disease, UK Biobank has completed the world’s largest whole-body scanning project, scanning the brain, heart, abdomen, blood vessels, bones and joints of 100,000 volunteers. These scans, carried out at this scale, show us what is happening in people’s bodies as they age, so we can understand how, why and when we get sick.

Since 2015, UK Biobank imaging data has been released in batches, with scientists around the world using the data to develop better diagnostic tests for life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, dementia and cancer. Soon, approved researchers will have access to more than one billion anonymised images from 100,000 volunteers. Using this alongside existing UK Biobank information on lifestyle, medical history, genetics and blood proteins collected from these same volunteers over the past 15 years, this imaging data allows researchers to see, in ways previously impossible, how all aspects of our lives affect our health.

To date, more than 1,300 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published using UK Biobank imaging data. The results of this research are already improving care in the NHS and beyond. For example:

• NHS memorial hospitals across the UK are now using processes developed from UK Biobank to analyse MRI images of the brain, helping to more accurately diagnose dementia.
• Cardiac care has improved in more than 90 countries as doctors use an AI tool developed using UK Biobank data to analyse heart scans in less than a second – up from almost a quarter of an hour previously – allowing them to focus on those cases that require the most attention.

After 11 years of work, 100,000 scanning sessions, each lasting around 5 hours, and an investment of more than £60 million, UK Biobank has reached this significant milestone.

The unprecedented scale of this imaging project – more than 10 times larger than anything that has ever existed before – allows scientists to see patterns in diseases that would otherwise be undetectable. Collecting scans from 100,000 volunteers seemed like a pipe dream… some experts even asked if we had added an extra zero by mistake! This massive imaging project makes the invisible visible. What’s more, by combining these images of different body parts with all the genetic and vital information from our volunteers, scientists gain a much better understanding of how our bodies work.”

Sir Rory Collins, Professor, Principal Investigator and CEO, UK Biobank

During each session, more than 12,000 MRI images of the brain, heart and abdomen were collected from each person, as well as full-body scans to measure bone density and body fat, and an ultrasound scan of the carotid arteries. Each volunteer also provided the same detailed information they had when they first took part in UK Biobank nearly 15 years ago, including lifestyle data, physical attributes (such as height, weight and grip strength), and a blood sample.

“I signed up for the scan because I want to help create a healthier future for us all. That’s why I first became a UK Biobank volunteer over 15 years ago – to be of service to the scientists working so hard for future generations,” said Alison, a member of the UK Biobank Participant Advisory Group.

Imaging data at this scale provides more information about rare diseases and different stages of common illnesses. Scientists can also better compare healthy bodies with those with multiple diseases, ultimately allowing them to find more powerful markers of disease.

“The UK Biobank imaging study has changed the landscape of biomedical research forever. The vast amount of data has enabled major breakthroughs in computerised image analysis. Researchers can now measure the size, shape and composition of virtually every organ and tissue in the body in seconds rather than hours per person,” said Professor Louise Thomas, professor of metabolic imaging at the University of Westminster.

In addition to the benefits already benefiting patients today, these imaging data are stimulating basic science that should lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments. Among these advances:

• Developing an AI model that creates a personalized version of a healthy heart (based on a person's age, gender, weight, and height) that can be used to detect differences between a patient's real heart and the healthy heart model and detect early signs of heart disease.
• The discovery that our organs may be biologically older than our chronological age will allow doctors to see from body scans and clinical data which organs are at risk of developing disease and find ways to prevent this, ultimately prolonging life.
• Discovering new connections between the heart and brain. For example, how structural changes in the heart increase the risk of mental disorders, including depression. This is important for understanding brain diseases.
• Demonstration of how an invasive surgical procedure can be replaced by MRI for the diagnosis and monitoring of a common disease, fatty liver disease.
• Predicting the early onset of 38 diseases by combining MRI images with other health data and using AI, demonstrating the power of advanced technology in predicting health risks long before symptoms appear.
• Findings that drinking one to two units of alcohol a day is associated with potentially harmful reductions in brain size and structure, likely leading to an increased risk of memory loss and dementia.
• Demonstrating that people with the same BMI can store fat very differently due to genetics – increasing the risk of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in some, while protecting it in others.
• Using DEXA scans to reveal that 1 in 10 middle-aged people with no other symptoms have calcifications in the abdominal aorta (the body's main blood vessel) - a widely undiagnosed but deadly condition.

Data on this scale opens up the possibility of using machine learning to predict diseases years before symptoms appear.

“It’s fantastic that UK Biobank has collected such a wealth of data from generous volunteers, and the scans add another layer of exquisite detail. One recent study used brain scans from 20,000 participants, activity data and genetics to develop an AI tool that predicts who is at risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. I’m looking forward to seeing what scans from 100,000 people will reveal!” said Professor Paul Matthews, Chair of the UK Biobank Imaging Working Group.

The project also contributed to the global democratization of access to imaging data by turning MR images into data that can be used by researchers outside the imaging field, including scientists in less-resourced countries.

“We have received incredible feedback from researchers around the world about how the imaging project is using the results in areas of science that had not previously considered using body scan data,” said Professor Naomi Allen, UK Biobank’s chief scientific officer.

The UK Biobank imaging project began as a pilot in 2014 with over 7,000 volunteers – a record at the time. The main phase began in 2016, inviting 100,000 of UK Biobank’s 500,000 volunteers to participate in 5-hour imaging sessions at one of four dedicated centres across the country. The project continues to invite volunteers for imaging sessions after reaching its 100,000 participant target.

The second phase of the project began in 2022 and aims to rescan 60,000 of those 100,000 participants no sooner than two years after their first imaging session. This project is ongoing and is expected to be completed by 2029.

UK Biobank data is made available to approved researchers in batches via the secure, cloud-based UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform (UKB-RAP). Imaging data from all 100,000 participants is expected to be available to researchers by the end of 2025.