Capturing the
world of science.

Unlock

the potential of imaging in the Helmholtz Association across all research domains and along the entire imaging pipeline.

Improve

leverage and accessibility of the innovative imaging modalities, applications and data treasures.

Enable

the delivery of generalizable imaging solutions.

News, Events & Jobs


Hector Foundation Prize, award ceremony
Image: HAdW/Tobias Schwerdt

Hector Foundation Prize for Annika Reinke: Metrics Reloaded Sets New Standards for AI in Image Analysis

We’re thrilled to announce that Dr. Annika Reinke received the Hector Foundation Prize 2025 for her exceptional work Metrics Reloaded. The prize, endowed with €10,000, recognizes outstanding contributions by young researchers in computer science.
HI Conference 2025, group photo
Image: Jörg Modrow

Helmholtz Imaging Conference 2025 Recap

Another energizing edition of our annual conference took place in Potsdam – three days packed with inspiring talks, hands-on sessions, and vibrant community exchange. Don’t miss the highlights - dive in here!
Helmholtz Model Zoo logo
 

Helmholtz Model Zoo – Now Open to All Helmholtz Members!

The Helmholtz Model Zoo is a new platform that makes sharing and using AI models across the Helmholtz community easier than ever - no local GPUs or deep tech expertise required. Discover how to contribute and accelerate open, collaborative AI for science!

Portfolio


Support Hub

The Support Hub is your gateway to the world of Helmholtz Imaging! Simply send an e-mail to support@helmholtz-imaging.de and we will help you out. Any request is welcome, whether it is a question about administrative or imaging-related matters, consulting requests, project support, Helmholtz Imaging Collaborations or access to our portfolio.

CONNECT

Helmholtz Imaging CONNECT is the heart of the Helmholtz Imaging Network. Get to know the imaging experts from the Helmholtz Association, explore the amazing portfolio of cutting-edge instruments from satellites to synchrotrons, dive into the exciting world of imaging applications. Helmholtz Imaging CONNECT facilitates finding partners and collaborators for innovative projects, with just the right complementary expertise necessary to conduct research for grand challenges.

We want you! If you are affiliated to one of the Helmholtz Centers, we invite you to add your profile, your modalities and your applications to the website. Be Helmholtz Imaging!

Collaborations

Struggling with an imaging-related project? Apply for a Helmholtz Imaging Collaboration and tap into the expertise of Helmholtz Imaging! Collaborations enable you to team up with one of our units for an elongated period of time (up to 6 months or even longer) to work on a project together. Whether you require support in (AI-based) image analysis, image reconstruction, annotation, data management, software solutions, addressing inverse problems, developing novel imaging modalities, 3D visualization and more – we are your partner.

Solutions

Helmholtz Imaging Solutions provide software driven strategies for solving common problems across imaging domains and tools. In reality, being aware of a software solution for a scientific problem is often followed by a time-consuming process of figuring out how to install the specific tool and how to precisely use it to reproduce a published result. We provide a framework to unify and simplify this process. Additionally, we curate a catalog of Helmholtz Imaging Solutions developed within our community.


Projects

Helmholtz Imaging Projects are granted to cross-disciplinary research teams that identify innovative research topics at the intersection of imaging and information & data science, initiate cross-cutting research collaborations, and thus underpin the growth of the Helmholtz Imaging network. Discover our outstanding projects or apply for the annual call.

Publications

Helmholtz Imaging captures the world of science. Discover unique data sets, ready-to-use software tools, and top-level research papers.

The platform’s output originates from our research groups as well as from projects funded by us, theses supervised by us and collaborations initiated through us. Altogether, our publications showcase the whole diversity of Helmholtz Imaging.

Hirnmetastase

Highlight Projects


This image shows simulation results comparing MWF mapping with single inversions of "T2-decay" data, "T2*-decay" data, and with joint inversion of both. The joint inversion is significantly closer to ground truth, as the second row shows.
 

JIMM2

3D Myelin Mapping with AI and Uncertainty Quantification

Changes in brain myelin are linked to many neurological diseases. This project aims to improve myelin water imaging, enabling more accurate and accessible diagnostics.
visual for third-party funded project UMDISTO
 

UMDISTO: Unsupervised Model Discovery

The project aims to develop novel methods for unsupervised multi-matching to map cellular-level correspondences in organisms like C. elegans.
Helmholtz Imaging Project cryoFocal, image for overview page
 

cryoFocal

3D Reconstruction from defocused cryo-EM images

This project explores how defocused images recorded with an electron microscope can be used to reconstruct the 3D structure of molecules inside cells. This method aims to enable faster and more cost-effective structural analysis of molecules to accelerate understanding of their functions and to design drugs against them.

About us


Group photo of the Helmholtz Imaging team
Image: Knut Sander

Helmholtz Imaging’s mission is to unlock the potential of imaging in the Helmholtz Association. Image data provide a substantial part of data being generated in scientific research. Helmholtz Imaging is the overarching platform to better leverage and make accessible to everyone the innovative modalities, methodological richness, and data treasures of the Helmholtz Association.

For us, imaging is the whole process from data acquisition and data preparation to data management and data analysis. For this reason, we feel that the anchoring at the three host centers DESY, DKFZ and MDC is optimal to serve the entire imaging pipeline and jointly generate the greatest possible added value for the entire association. We are dedicated to making Helmholtz Imaging an internationally visible platform for imaging research.

Helmholtz Imaging is one of five platforms (HIDA, HIFIS, Helmholtz.AI and HMC) initiated by the Helmholtz Information & Data Science Incubator.

People of Helmholtz Imaging


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