World's largest imaging project reaches milestone of 100,000 scans
As UK Biobank reaches the milestone of 100,000 scans, learn more about the world's largest imaging project and its impact on science.
www.ukbiobank.ac.ukHere’s the latest available about UK Biobank Imaging Centre, based on recent public updates.
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UK Biobank completed its world’s largest whole-body imaging project, scanning 100,000 volunteers across multiple imaging modalities (MRI, X-ray, ultrasound). This milestone was announced in mid-2025 and reported as a major advancement for disease research and NHS applications. The project concluded after about 11 years and substantial funding, with data intended to inform studies on dementia, heart disease, arthritis, and cancer.[3][7]
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Imaging centre activity has continued to expand and re-open sample sites. In 2025, imaging centres in the UK were reported as re-opening or maintaining operations to meet ongoing imaging scans, including Bristol re-opening after a lease arrangement with the NHS and continued scanning at Stockport and Newcastle/Reading centers. This supports the goal of imaging 100,000 participants and enabling large-scale data releases for approved researchers via the UK Biobank platform.[9]
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In late 2025 to 2026 updates, the imaging project was followed by efforts to repeat imaging on a subset of participants (about 60,000), aiming to capture longitudinal changes and enhance understanding of disease progression; this was supported by major funders and partnerships (MRC, Calico, CZI). The aim is to pair imaging data with genetics and health records to advance biomarker discovery and risk prediction.[5]
Key takeaways
- The imaging program has achieved its landmark 100,000 scans milestone and continues to generate large-scale datasets for research and NHS use.[7][3]
- Centre activity remains active with ongoing participation opportunities and imaging capacity across UK sites to support continued data collection and follow-up imaging.[9]
- Longitudinal imaging efforts are expanding, enabling repeat scans on tens of thousands of participants to study aging and disease trajectories.[5]
Would you like a brief chronological timeline of milestones with dates, or a pulled list of recent publications and data releases stemming from the UK Biobank imaging project? I can assemble a concise bullet list or a small chart if you specify your preferred format.