UK Biobank has announced a major milestone in one of the world’s most ambitious medical research initiatives: over 100,000 participants have now undergone whole-body MRI scans using 1.5T and 3T MRI systems from Siemens Healthineers.
This achievement marks a pivotal moment in a long-term collaboration aimed at transforming healthcare, supporting researchers to enable earlier detection, improved diagnosis and more personalised treatment for a wide range of conditions.
As the world’s most comprehensive source of biomedical data for health research in the public interest¹, UK Biobank is reshaping how we understand and address disease. The de-identified imaging data is made available to approved researchers around the world, helping to uncover new insights about how lifestyle factors influence health – insights that could lead to better diagnosis and treatment in the future.
Since the project’s inception more than a decade ago, Siemens Healthineers has been working closely with UK Biobank to deliver consistent imaging performance across all study sites. The MRI systems comprise of four 1.5T and four 3T scanners, providing the reliability and continuity essential for longitudinal research, withstanding the test of time while maintaining uniform data quality. Their ability to deliver high-quality and reproducible images under demanding conditions, supported by technical expertise, has helped meet the rigorous standards required for a study of this scale.
Each imaging appointment lasts a total of approximately five hours, during which over 12,000 MRI images are captured from the brain, heart, and abdomen of every participant. These sessions also include other assessments such as full-body scans to assess bone density and body fat. The scale and depth of this imaging data is empowering scientists to investigate diseases of middle-to-old age and monitor the progression of common conditions with precision. By comparing healthy individuals with those affected by multiple health issues, researchers are identifying powerful new markers of disease - insights that are already shaping the future of diagnostics and treatment.
“The unprecedented scale of this imaging project – more than 10 times bigger than anything that existed before – makes it possible for scientists to see patterns of disease that just couldn’t otherwise be seen. Collecting scans from 100,000 volunteers seemed to be a pipe dream… some experts even asked if we’d included an extra zero by mistake! This massive imaging project is making the invisible visible. What’s more, by combining these images from different parts of the body with all the genetic and lifestyle information from our volunteers, scientists are getting a far better understanding of how our bodies work,” states Professor Sir Rory Collins, principal investigator and chief executive of UK Biobank.
“We are extremely proud to be part of this landmark achievement. This milestone reflects the dedication of the researchers and participants and the enduring partnership between our organisations. Our MRI technology is designed to deliver the quality, consistency and innovation required for studies of this scale. Together, we are enabling discoveries that have the potential to transform how we detect, diagnose and treat serious health conditions,” said Craig Buckley, DI head of scientific marketing for Siemens Healthineers Great Britain and Ireland.
Reference
1. UK Biobank – “Who We Are” (2025). Available from: https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/learn-more-about-uk-biobank/about-us
