Human Organ Atlas sets new standard for 3D medical imaging
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · May 3
Human Organ Atlas sets new standard for 3D medical imaging
10 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · May 3
Published in Science Advances, the project spans 87 organs, 363 3D datasets and 54 donors, using ESRF's Extremely Brilliant Source in France to image intact organs at single-micron resolution.
Researchers from nine institutes say the atlas can help study diseases across organs, including cancer, heart disease, osteoarthritis, Covid-linked lung vascular damage and rare conditions such as Dandy-Walker syndrome.
The open resource is intended for researchers, doctors, educators and AI developers, with the team aiming eventually to image whole human bodies at 10 to 20 times today's resolution.
What is the biggest hurdle to imaging an entire human body at this incredible cellular resolution?
How will the Human Organ Atlas protect donor privacy with imaging at a unique cellular level?
As AI learns from this organ atlas, can it predict diseases before symptoms even appear?
Mapping the Human Body in Unprecedented Detail: The Human Organ Atlas and HiP-CT Technology (2020–2026)
Overview
The Human Organ Atlas (HOA) was launched in 2020 by an international consortium led by University College London and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the advanced HiP-CT imaging technology, which provides detailed 3D views of whole human organs at near-cellular resolution, the HOA has grown to include over 300 datasets from 11 organ types, mainly from older donors. This open-access resource reveals intricate disease insights, especially COVID-19 lung damage, and fuels artificial intelligence development and medical education. Despite challenges like reliance on specialized facilities and large data volumes, ongoing collaboration and expansion plans aim to broaden donor diversity and eventually image entire human bodies, promising transformative advances in medicine and science.