2026 Mass Spectrometry Imaging Technology Roadmap: The Triangular Evolution of Resolution, Throughput and Automation

If one were to map out the development of mass spectrometry imaging as a roadmap, the most noteworthy aspect is not the breakthrough in any single parameter, but rather the interplay and rebalancing between three key pillars: resolution, throughput and automation. Any isolated breakthrough in one of these areas will be quietly constrained by the other two. Below, we trace this evolutionary path in chronological order.

Phase One (up to circa 2020): Establishing ‘imaging capability’

The core focus of this period was to demonstrate feasibility. The maturation of ambient-pressure and near-ambient-pressure ionisation techniques, such as DESI and MALDI, made ‘ionising whilst recording position’ a reproducible method. The pain points were also evident: resolution was typically in the tens of micrometres, making single-cell structures indistinguishable; point-by-point scanning was slow, resulting in low throughput; and image interpretation relied heavily on manual interpretation.

Phase Two (2020–2025): Breakthroughs in resolution and applicability

Imaging sources centred on photoionisation have broadened the scope of application. Neo Source INSTRUMENT’s MSI DPI advances electrospray/photochemical ionisation imaging to 20–200 μm, making it suitable for large-scale screening of tissues and materials; the subsequently launched MSI LDPI combines laser desorption with photochemical ionisation, reducing spatial resolution to 2–3 μm (officially described as ‘among the best in the industry’), approaching the single-cell level. Post-photoionisation (secondary photoionisation) boosts weak signals by 1–3 orders of magnitude, alleviating the dilemma of ‘seeing in fine detail but not clearly’.

The key advancement at this stage is that resolution and molecular coverage are no longer mutually exclusive—LDPI retains broad molecular coverage via photoionisation whilst maintaining micrometre-level resolution.

Phase Three (2025–2026 and beyond): Addressing throughput and automation

With resolution improved, the new bottlenecks shift to ‘slowness’ and ‘inability to process data’. The roadmap for this phase follows two distinct paths:

• Throughput track: Analysers with higher sampling rates (such as the ProC-2 online time-of-flight mass spectrometer, sampling at 30,000 Hz with dual-field reflection resolution better than 2000 @ m/z = 92) support faster point-by-point acquisition; motorised stages coordinated with software reduce idle travel.

• Automation line: AI takes over registration, dimensionality reduction and initial screening of regions of interest, freeing researchers from the task of ‘manually selecting m/z values’.

How to rebalance the triangle

• Resolution ↑ → More pixels → Data volume (GB scale) ↑ → Driving the need for storage and automation

• Throughput ↑ → Faster per sample → Scalable sample size → Driving the need for standardisation and reproducibility

• Automation ↑ → Image interpretation becomes easier → More organisations can afford it → Driving industrial implementation

These three factors are interlinked. It is foreseeable that, around 2026, the focus of competition will shift from ‘who has the most impressive source resolution figures’ to ‘who can integrate resolution, throughput and automation into a stable, commercially available imaging system’ — and ensure it integrates seamlessly with mainstream platforms such as Agilent, AB SCIEX and Thermo.

For buyers, the lesson from this roadmap is simple: do not focus solely on a single parameter; instead, assess the overall maturity of the entire trio.