Artificial Intelligence for Organelle Segmentation in Live-Cell Imaging

Abstract

Organelle morphology and dynamics are closely linked to cellular function and fate, yet their relationships remain poorly defined across physiological and pathological contexts. Live-cell imaging enables the visualization of subcellular structures and dynamic processes but often requires extensive manual analysis, introducing variability and limiting reproducibility and throughput. Image segmentation partitions digital images into meaningful regions, facilitating the quantification of organelle morphology and molecular behavior for precise subcellular analysis. Herein, this review surveys recent advances in live-cell imaging segmentation algorithms across diverse organelles, from traditional thresholding-based methods to deep learning approaches that enhance accuracy and adaptability in complex biological environments. We discuss key challenges, including 3-dimensional imaging, multi-organelle segmentation, and generalization across diverse imaging modalities. We also highlight label-efficient strategies, synthetic data, and physics-guided modeling that reduce reliance on manual annotations and large annotated datasets. By advancing generalist models, these innovations improve quantitative cell biology, accelerate disease research, and drive therapeutic discovery, underscoring the transformative role of artificial intelligence in biomedical microscopy.