IMAGINE develops the next generation of scale-crossing imaging technologies to enable an integrated investigation of structure and function of biological systems. It focuses on developing and integrating 4 major disruptive microscopy technologies (X-ray imaging, cryo-electron microscopy, cryo and dynamic super-resolution microscopy and large volume intravital light microscopy), also developing the AI-powered image analysis and data integration and sharing capabilities, that are needed to correlate these technologies and make their data widely available. To harness their power for some of the most pressing societal challenges, IMAGINE prepares its new imaging technologies to be deployed in the field so that the collection of environmental specimens in their natural context can be coupled with their study by highest resolution imaging technologies
The main objectives are to:
•develop innovative cross-scale imaging instrumentation, tools, and methods, which will advance the state-of-art of the six participating pan-European RIs and show their transformative operational potential for the Life Sciences to address major socio-economic challenges of human and planetary health;
•validate the newly developed imaging technologies for service readiness in RIs and integrate them across RIs, to provide new and improved services to a wider community of academic and industrial users;
•train RI staff in the operation and use of the newly developed imaging technologies; and
•create an effective Open Innovation ecosystem in the multi-stakeholder industry-academia technology development environment around RIs, to fully realize the innovative potential for industrial exploitation of new imaging technologies and rapidly place new products on the market.
