Modality-projection universal model for comprehensive full-body medical imaging segmentation

The integration of deep learning in medical imaging has significantly advanced diagnostic, therapeutic, and research outcomes. However, applying universal models across multiple modalities remains challenging due to inherent inter-modality variability. Here we present the Modality Projection Universal Model (MPUM), trained on 861 subjects, which dynamically adapts to diverse imaging modalities through a modality-projection strategy. MPUM achieves state-of-the-art, whole-body organ segmentation, providing rapid localization for computer-aided diagnosis and precise anatomical quantification to support clinical decision-making. A controller-based convolutional layer further enables saliency map visualization, enhancing model interpretability for clinical use. Beyond segmentation, MPUM reveals metabolic correlations along the brain-body axis and between distinct brain regions, providing insights into systemic and physiological interactions from a whole-body perspective. Here we show that this universal framework accelerates diagnosis, facilitates large-scale imaging analysis, and bridges anatomical and metabolic information, enabling discovery of cross-organ disease mechanisms and advancing integrative brain-body research.