The UK Biobank imaging enhancement of 100,000 participants:?rationale, data collection, management and future directions

Neubauer, S; Littlejohns, TJ; Holliday, J; Gibson, LM; Garratt, S; Oesingmann, N; Alfaro-Almagro, F; Bell, JD; Boultwood, C; Collins, R; Conroy, MC; Crabtree, N; Doherty, N; Frangi, AF; Harvey, NC; Leeson, P; Miller, KL; Petersen, SE; Sellors, J; Sheard, S; Smith, SM; Sudlow, CLM; Matthews, PM; Allen, NE; Kariki, E

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>UK Biobank is a population-based cohort of half a million participants aged 40–69 years recruited between 2006 and 2010. In 2014, UK Biobank started the world’s largest multi-modal imaging study, with the aim of re-inviting 100,000 participants to undergo brain, cardiac and abdominal magnetic resonance imaging, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and carotid ultrasound. The combination of large-scale multi-modal imaging with extensive phenotypic and genetic data offers an unprecedented resource for scientists to conduct health-related research. This article provides an in-depth overview of the imaging enhancement, including the data collected, how it is managed and processed, and future directions.</jats:p>

• Acceptance Date: Apr 3, 2020
• Publication Date: May 26, 2020
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Print ISSN: 2041-1723
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15948-9
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15948-9