Cell‐Migration Visualization: Task Taxonomy, Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Abstract

Cell migration is a biological process involved in various physiological and pathological phenomena. Advances in microscopy have generated large, multimodal datasets on cellular movement, whose complexity challenges analysis. Data visualization offers powerful tools to explore such data, but the development of effective tools is often hindered by the lack of structured analytical requirements and a shared vocabulary between visualization specialists and domain experts. This article addresses this gap by providing a structured, task‐oriented overview of data visualization for cell migration analysis. To this end, we developed and validated a task taxonomy for cell migration analysis in collaboration with domain experts. Following the PRISMA protocol, we conducted a systematic review to map the main functionalities of existing computational tools to the tasks they support and the visualization techniques they employ. Our contributions are: (i) a validated task taxonomy that provides a common framework for organizing analytical needs and guiding tool development; (ii) a systematic review that synthesizes the current landscape of visualization‐based tools for cell migration analysis; and (iii) a research agenda that identifies current gaps and outlines future opportunities for the data visualization field. This work provides a structured reference for cell migration data analysis, facilitating collaboration, guiding tool design, and advancing research in this fascinating domain.