More than 1,300 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published using imaging data
UK Biobank has reached the record-breaking milestone of collecting the brain, body and bone scans of 100,000 volunteers.
Learn more about the world’s largest imaging project and the impact that this imaging data is having on science.
Transforming our understanding of disease
With more than one billion imaging scans collected from 100,000 volunteers, scientists are able to get an unprecedented insight into how organs change before diseases emerge.
Combined with UK Biobank’s other data on volunteers’ lifestyle, environment, physical measurements, blood components and genetics, the images are a powerful tool to investigate how and why people get sick as they age and what to do about it, transforming research into diseases like dementia, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.
In a remarkable achievement that is already impacting how we detect and diagnose disease, UK Biobank has completed the world’s largest whole body imaging project, scanning the brains, hearts, abdomens, blood vessels, bones and joints of 100,000 volunteers.
Latest news coverage
- Biggest human imaging study scans 100,000th person, BBC News
- Full-body scans of 100,000 people could change way diseases are detected and treated, The Guardian
- Tom Clarke accesses UK Biobank’s record-breaking imaging project and speaks with 100,000th volunteer, Sky News
- Husband and wife offer up bodies to complete [UK] Biobank scan project, The Times
- What scientists learned scanning the bodies of 100,000 Brits, Bloomberg
- The world’s largest medical imaging project hits target, Channel 4 News
- Today Programme, BBC Radio 4
Showcasing how researchers are using imaging data
On 16 July 2025, we brought together funders and leading scientists at the Royal Society to showcase how imaging data is being used to drive research breakthroughs.
Presentations from international researchers across academia and industry highlighted the potential of repeat imaging to capture change over time and enhance understanding of disease mechanisms.
You can watch all the presentations from the event on our dedicated YouTube playlist, covering the following topics:
- What it took to get to 100,000 scans
- How MRI and AI are redrawing the landscape of health
- How UK Biobank has improved care in people with liver disease
- Depicting heart shape and function with AI
- Brain imaging
- Genetics and cardiac imaging
- DXA imaging and novel approaches to risk prediction in osteoarthritis
- Imaging and genetics for ageing research
- Multiorgan ageing, chronic disease and mortality
- Opportunities for cardiovascular imaging-genetics
- Using the eye as a window to systemic health
Meet the 100,000th participant
Each imaging volunteer has made an incredible impact on science. As the 100,000th participant, Steve shares his reflections:
“My wife and I signed up to UK Biobank because we wanted to give back to medical research.
We’ve all had family members who’ve had health issues and we’re all getting older so if we can help scientists discover new ways to prevent and treat illness then that’s a worthwhile cause that we’re delighted to be part of.
I’ve loved being the 100,000th UK Biobank participant to be scanned and the team at the imaging centre have all been amazing. The whole imaging day has been a great experience and it’s been really enlightening to learn even more about what UK Biobank is about.”
Are you a participant inspired to take part again?
Our imaging project is currently in an exciting second phase, asking up to 60,000 participants to return for another imaging visit between two and seven years later. Repeat imaging is already taking place in our Newcastle and Cheadle imaging centres and will soon begin in Reading and Bristol too.
This is providing researchers with a unique window into how the body has changed over time as scientists compare the first set of scans with the second, transforming research into diseases like dementia, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.
If you are a participant, find out how to take part in a second imaging visit.
“This is a mammoth achievement, and the wealth of data that will be made available to researchers thanks to these volunteers will transform our understanding of diseases like cancer and dementia, which cause heartache for so many families.
Peter Kyle, Science and Tech Secretary, UK Government
UK Biobank is an extraordinary resource for medical research, which the Government is proud to support, and it was a privilege for me to meet some of their brilliant volunteers last year. We want to put data and the latest scientific breakthroughs to work, to fuel advances in healthcare and deliver on the Plan for Change.”
Research stories using imaging data
More than 1,300 scientific studies have already used the images to investigate conditions ranging from heart disease to osteoporosis. Read a selection of stories about how healthcare is being changed by discoveries made with this imaging data.
An artificial-intelligence software analyses heart scans in seconds and allows clinicians more time to spend with their patients.
UK Biobank’s 15-minute brain-imaging method allows doctors at 11 memory clinics to offer patients more tailored treatments.
Post-pandemic brains appear almost six months older than they should, scans from more than 16,000 UK Biobank participants have revealed.
As UK Biobank’s record-breaking project crosses the finish line, researchers are working to reveal what the images can tell us about why we get ill as we age – and what to do about it.
Reflections on a milestone moment
Various people involved in the milestone share what it means to them including a participant, researcher, funder and staff member.
Participant
“I signed up to my imaging appointment because I want to help create a healthier future for all of us to enjoy. That’s why I first volunteered to be part of UK Biobank over 15 years ago – to be of use to scientists who are working hard to help future generations.”
Alison, a member of UK Biobank’s Participant Advisory Group
Researcher
“UK Biobank’s imaging study has transformed the landscape of biomedical research forever. The sheer volume of data propelled major advances in computerised image analysis. Now researchers can measure the size, shape, and composition of nearly every organ and tissue in the body in seconds, rather than hours per person.”
Professor Louise Thomas, University of Westminster, UK
Funder
“The value of this imaging study, and indeed UK Biobank, to global health research cannot be overstated. With thanks to the enthusiasm from hundreds of thousands of volunteers, UK Biobank have assembled one of the most impressive datasets in the world. Combining these images with the genetic and lifestyle data offers unprecedented potential to unlock new discoveries and transform our understanding of health to improve lives around the world.”
Rachel McKendry, Executive Director of Discovery, Wellcome
Imaging staff
“It’s been incredible to be part of this work and I love to read about the ways in which our data has been used. Hitting 100K will be the best moment of my career. This has been a real team effort and not just my team. Everybody in this organisation, whatever their role or the remit of their job, has contributed to this in some way.”
Tonia Didcott, UK Biobank Imaging Operations Manager, Bristol
Steps to reach 100,000 scans
Reaching 100,000 scans is no mean feat. Take a look at our timeline of key moments over the past years to get to this point.
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July 2025100,000 initial participants scanned!
Steve becomes the 100,000th participant to be scanned at the Reading imaging centre in July 2025.
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January 202460,000 repeat imaging project launched in Cheadle
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September 2023
75,000 initial imaging participants scanned
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December 2022
60,000 repeat imaging project launched in Newcastle
Repeat imaging of 60,000 people begins so that scientists can see the changes that have taken place since their initial scans.
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October 2022
60,000 initial imaging participants scanned
UK Biobank’s Principal Investigator, Professor Sir Rory Collins, became the 60,000th volunteer to take part in October 2022.
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November 2021
50,000 initial imaging participants scanned
Dr Peter Craig, a Glasgow resident, became the 50,000th volunteer to take part in November 2021.
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February 2021
2,000 participants scanned for COVID imaging study
Around 2,000 participants attended a second imaging visit to understand the impact of the virus on internal organs, helping researchers investigate the short-and long-term impacts of COVID-19 infection.
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December 2020 – March 2022Bristol site used by the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic
UK Biobank leased its Bristol imaging centre to the NHS during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to help alleviate some of the pressures faced by the NHS.
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March 2020Sites closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
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February 2020Bristol site opens
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June 2018
Reading site opens
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June 201825,000 initial imaging participants scanned
The project becomes 5x larger than the largest population research imaging study conducted anywhere in the world to date when it reaches 25,000 scans in June 2018.
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April 2017
Newcastle site opens
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January 2016Main phase approved after successful pilot
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April 2014
First initial scan of the pilot study takes place
The first ever imaging scan takes place in Cheadle as part of a groundbreaking pilot.
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October 2012Pilot imaging study is funded
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2011Repeat of ‘baseline’ assessment in 20,000 participants
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2010
Recruitment of 500,000 participants completed
