Enabling data interpretability and reuse in light microscopy through consensus building, community engagement, and a next-generation metadata framework

Microscopy has provided extraordinary insight into the structure and function of human tissues and, with the rate of technical advancements, will undoubtedly lead to further unimaginable biomedical breakthroughs. Yet, although microscopes are a standard fixture in countless research laboratories, progress in the field is greatly hindered by a lack of interoperable hardware, software, and data formats. Images captured by one laboratory cannot be readily interpreted and utilized by others, resulting in a vast waste of time and resources. Establishing community standards that promote the interpretability and reuse of image data will boost economic development in biotechnology, make scientific knowledge and technical advancements more accessible, streamline large-scale experiments across multiple laboratories, and empower artificial intelligence and machine learning to extract crucial insights from combined biomedical imaging data. Here, we put forth a vision to expedite establishing and adopting metadata standards through community and vendor collaboration.