The Journal of Biomedical Photonics & Engineering is online journal that publishes peer-reviewed papers in all areas of biomedical photonics and engineering. See Aims & Scope page for more information.
Manuscript Types
The journal publishes regular research papers, letters, and reviews. In addition to contributed research articles, JBPE often publishes special sections in key areas of technology. Special sections are assembled by guest editors.
Regular Paper is a full-length manuscript presenting original work intended as a regular contribution to the journal.
Letter must be a short technical communication of significant interest intended for rapid publication in the JBPE Letters section of the journal. The typical size of a Letter should be 3–4 printed pages. This corresponds to a maximum length of about 14,000 characters (with spaces) or 2,300 words plus 1–3 figures and a short reference list.
Review Papers will usually written by at the invitation of Editor. Unsolicited reviews will be highly welcome but authors wishing to submit a review are requested to consult the Editors prior to commence-ment. The size of a Review may differ, a length of about 45,000 characters (with spaces) or 7,000 words excluding figures is recommended.
Submission process
JBPE uses an online submission system. If you are submitting via this system for the first time, you will first be required to register. From the account you create, you will be able to monitor your submission and make subsequent submissions. Authors should prepare and format a manuscript prior to submission. Any manuscript, which does not conform to the instructions, may be returned to authors for revision before publication. Authors should also read the journal policies prior to submission to ensure their manuscript meets the journal requirements.
Manuscripts should be submitted in English, and the presentation should be as succinct as comprehension will permit. If you are not a native English speaker, JBPE recommends that your manuscript be professionally edited prior to submission. Manuscripts are reviewed and refereed. Those accepted for publication are edited for conformance to the journal's style. Metric units should be used unless to do so is not feasible or would result in a serious loss of clarity.
File formats. The text may be prepared using Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Latex. Manuscripts must conform to the following requirements:
- Title page.List the paper title; the name(s) of the author(s); and the affiliation, complete mailing address, phone number, fax number, and E-mail address (if available) of each author. List sponsorship information in an acknowledgment section at the end of the paper
- Abstract. It should be self-contained (contains no footnotes or numerical references) and should not exceed 250 words.
- Keywords are required. Select from three to ten keywords that do not duplicate words in the title. Composite words can be selected and will be counted as one keyword. Do not abbreviate keywords.
- Text. Type manuscript double-spaced, in a single column, using a readable font size (for example, 12-point type). Please add page numbers. All photos, graphs, illustrations and diagrams are referred to as "figures" and the abbreviation "Fig." is used in the text. (Where the word "Figure" begins a sentence, it should be spelt in full.)
- Equations should be numbered consecutively, with the equation number flushed (i.e., right-justified) and enclosed in parentheses. Equations should be referred in the text as Eq. (x), where x is the equation number. In multiple-line equations, the number should be given on the last line. Please ensure that the equations are numbered correctly, without repetition, and that no important equations are omitted from the numbering scheme. Mathematical operation signs indicating continuity of the expression should be placed at the left hand of the second and succeeding lines.
- Footnotes. Use textual footnotes only when necessary to present important documentary or explanatory material whose inclusion in the text would be distracting.
- Tables should be typed neatly, each on a separate sheet, with title above and any notes below. Explain all abbreviations. Tables should be numbered in the order of their appearance by Roman numerals. The units of measure must be indicated clearly in the column headings of the table. If the unit of measure is the same for all data in a table, it may be given in the table title or in a footnote to be printed directly below the table.
- Figures must be submitted in PS, EPS, TIFF, PNG, JPG or GIF format. If the files are large, please compress them using zip, tar or gzip. Line art/graphics exported from a drawing program should be saved in vector format. Number all figures in the order that they appear in the text. All figure parts must be labeled (a), (b), etc. Submit high-resolution figures. Avoid submitting illustrations containing small axes with oversized labels. Ensure that line weights will be 0.5 points or greater in the final published size. The graphic should be sent with the correct orientation. Set the graphic for 600 dpi resolution for for line drawings (black and white), 300 dpi for halftones (gray scale), and 300 dpi for color images. Must be in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) for color separation or RGB (Red, Green and Blue).
- References to published literature must be typed double-spaced and numbered consecutively in the order of their citation in the text. Private communications or unpublished reports should be treated as references. Click here for sample book, journal, and Internet references. For references with three or fewer authors, list all authors. For references with four or more authors, list the first author only followed by "et al.". It is highly recommended to check your references with CrossRef.
Initial submission. For initial peer review you will need to upload a single, complete manuscript file that contains both the article text (including references, tables, and captions) and the figures (either within the manuscript near each figure callout, or grouped at the end). Your uploaded source file will be converted to PDF format, which will be used for the review process.
Reviewing. All contributions will be evaluated according to the standard procedures of peer review, usually by two referees. To facilitate the refereeing process, please provide the names and email addresses of at least three referees capable of reviewing your manuscript. Please make sure that the suggested referees are not too closely related to your own publications.
Revised manuscripts must be uploaded within 2 weeks (for minor revisions) or 4 weeks (for major revisions) of authors being notified of conditional acceptance pending satisfactory revision.
Proofs. Prior to publication, authors will receive page proofs by e-mail in PDF format. Authors should keep in mind that reading proofs is their responsibility. Corrections should therefore be clear and unambiguous. Corrections listed in an electronic file should be sorted by line numbers. The main aim of proofreading is to correct errors that may have occurred during the production process, and not to modify the content of the paper. The reproduction of artwork, the layout of the pages and breaks in equations introduced by the production staff should be checked carefully. Corrections that may lead to a change in the page layout should be avoided. Proof corrections should be returned to the publisher within 3 working days.