Heriot-Watt University has secured £449,000 from the Wolfson Foundation to install an AI-powered imaging platform that identifies rare cellular events among millions of cells, removing the need for hours of manual microscope operation. The system will be housed at the Edinburgh Super-Resolution Imaging Consortium (ESRIC), a national facility used by researchers across Scotland, and is expected to be fully operational by March 2027.
The total project cost sits just under £600,000, with Heriot-Watt committing an additional £150,000. The investment gives Scottish scientists access to automated, high-throughput super-resolution microscopy at a scale not previously available in the region.
How the platform changes the workflow
Conventional super-resolution microscopes demand hours of hands-on operator time to locate and capture cellular events. The new system uses artificial intelligence to identify regions of interest, adjust its own settings, and collect high volumes of data with minimal human input. This shift from manual hunting to automated acquisition means researchers can build much larger, statistically robust datasets.
Dr Jessica Valli, ESRIC's Imaging Technology Manager, said: "At the moment, finding one important event among millions of cells can take hours of painstaking manual searching. This system does that in a fraction of the time, and it does it automatically, which means researchers can spend less time hunting for answers and more time understanding what they have found."
Why rare cellular events matter
Many biological processes that control normal cell function happen only briefly. The same mechanisms can become disrupted in diseases such as cancer. Studying these fleeting events requires analysing vast numbers of cells - something that automated, high-throughput imaging makes practical for the first time at this facility.
Researchers are already preparing projects that depend on this capability. Work ranges from tracking how immune cells invade ageing muscle tissue to mapping how faulty genetic switches contribute to disease. The platform will also support research in neuroscience, infection biology, and healthy ageing.
Remote access and environmental impact
The system's automation allows much of the imaging process to be conducted remotely. Scientists based far from Edinburgh can collect high-quality data without travelling, cutting both costs and carbon footprint. Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation, said the platform "speeds up complex imaging processes and enables remote users right across Scotland to advance important discovery science."
ESRIC operates as an open-access facility and has trained more than 250 researchers from over 30 countries through its annual Super-Resolution Specialist School. The new equipment will be incorporated into that programme from 2027 onward, widening access for early career researchers.
Professor Chris Turney, Deputy Principal for Research and Innovation at Heriot-Watt, said the investment "will strengthen Scotland's research infrastructure, accelerate discoveries in health and life sciences, and ensure ESRIC remains at the forefront of imaging innovation for researchers across the UK and beyond."
Why this matters for science and research professionals
For researchers working with super-resolution microscopy, the bottleneck has long been the time required to manually find and image rare events. This platform automates the most tedious part of the workflow, producing larger datasets with stronger statistical power. The result is faster experimental cycles and more confidence in findings. For those building skills in automated lab systems, the platform also creates a direct connection to the techniques covered in an AI Learning Path for Research Scientists, particularly around data acquisition and lab automation. The broader shift toward AI for Science & Research continues to reshape how biomedical labs approach imaging, analysis, and experimental design.
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