UK Biobank completes its 100,000th whole body scan. How its helping dementia research

The value of big data in health research has exploded with  many recent developments made possible by access to large datasets. No more so, than in the growth of imaging data. So, there is much to celebrate with news that the Oxford-based UK Biobank has completed its 100,000^th whole body scan – a staggering and unprecedented milestone for health research.

The whole-body imaging project has scanned the brains, hearts, abdomens, blood vessels, bones and joints of each participant – a massive undertaking that is showing us what is happening in people’s bodies as they age, opening the way to a better understanding of how and when people get sick.

The UK Biobank imaging project, which began 11 years ago, is already the largest imaging databank by some distance and it is being used by scientists around the world to develop better diagnostic tests for life-altering conditions such as dementia, heart disease and cancer.

Dementias Platform UK is joining the celebration as a collaborator, having helped UK Biobank to initiate repeat brain scans.. DPUK funded first 2,000 participants who had a second scan several years later

Repeat imaging is  enriching the value of the imaging project by providing data on disease progression over time DPUK’s timely funding also opened the way for further funding as the reimaging programme continued to grow.

The accumulated data are allowing researchers to see how all aspects of our lives influence our health as we age, including cognition and dementia. It is something that has not previously been possible at this breadth, depth, and scale.

Commenting on the achievement Professor John Gallacher, Director of Dementias Platform UK, said:

“Congratulations to UK Biobank on this major milestone. For dementia, this incredible achievement sets new standards for depth and breadth at-scale in brain imaging. It will inform new discoveries, enable earlier diagnosis, and support the development of disease modifying therapies. DPUK is delighted to have contributed to this project.”

Now 11 years on, researchers will soon be able to access over one billion de-identified images alongside UK Biobank’s existing information on lifestyle, medical history, genetics and blood proteins collected from the same volunteers over the past 15 years.

The scale of the programme is 10 times larger than anything which previously existed. That is remarkable as participants are required to undergo 5 hours of scans!

Data on this unprecedented scale are unlocking new opportunities including use of machine learning to help predict disease years before symptoms start to appear.

Professor Paul Mathews, chair of the UK Biobank Imaging Working Group said:

“The beauty of UK Biobank is the breadth of the data collected from the generous volunteers, and the imaging scans add another layer of exquisite detail. One recent study used the brain imaging data from 20,000 participants, along with activity monitoring and genetic data, to develop an AI tool to predict who may go on to develop Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases¹⁴. I can’t wait to see what imaging data on 100,000 individuals will reveal!”

Although the 100,000-participant figure is enormous, the imaging project is continuing to invite UK Biobank’s volunteers to appointments beyond this original target.

The outcomes of the initiative are certainly appearing across the health landscape in the UK with tangible benefits seen at NHS memory clinics across the UK where processes developed from UK Biobank are used to analyse brain magnetic resonance (MRI) images and help to more accurately diagnose dementia. Here at DPUK, we continue to work with UK Biobank data, comparing and combining it with the many datsets hosted by our Data Portal.. Both the UK Biobank and DPUK’s facilities are important assets for dementia research with an increasing number of studies studies  using these  resources.

Find out more about the imaging programme at: www.ukbiobank.ac.uk