Organoid Imaging: Beyond Depth, Toward Function and Standards

ABSTRACT

Despite recent achievements in organoid models that recapitulate key aspects of human development and disease, a deceptively simple question persists: What can be seen when looking inside a living organoid? In most cases, the answer is either a well‐resolved but static structure or a dynamic yet superficial and easily perturbed snapshot. As advanced imaging technologies race to capture larger, deeper, and longer organoid time‐lapse recordings, the field appears to have reached a critical juncture. The scientific problem is no longer purely technical, given that faster microscopes and brighter probes are now within reach. The real issue is conceptual. Seeing deeper has been prioritized over understanding function, whereas standards for making images from different laboratories truly comparable remain absent.