AI-Powered Algorithm Rapidly Reconstructs 3D Biological Structures from 2D SEM Images

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based image segmentation algorithm that can rapidly reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) structures from two-dimensional (2D) cross-sectional images of biological samples captured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The newly developed algorithm requires manual analysis of only about 10% of the total image data, after which it automatically labels the remaining data to train the AI. The trained AI automatically performs segmentation, and the results are reconstructed in 3D. This research ispublishedinMicroscopy and Microanalysis. Compared with conventional methods—where researchers had to manually analyze every cross-sectional image—the new approach reduces the time and cost required for 3D visualization by more than half, significantly improving research efficiency.