First articles published in new 'Journal of Medical Imaging'

BELLINGHAM, Washington -- The Journal of Medical Imaging (JMI) has launched, with freely accessible articles on new research on earlier and more accurate diagnosis and monitoring of cancer and other diseases, image quality assessment, 3D imaging, and other topics. Published by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, the quarterly journal is available online in the SPIE Digital Library, with each peer-reviewed article published as it is approved. JMI will also be issued in print.

JMI covers fundamental and translational research and applications focused on medical imaging, said Editor-in-Chief Maryellen Giger, A.N. Pritzker Professor of Radiology/Medical Physics at the University of Chicago. Advisory editors are Michael Fitzpatrick  of Vanderbilt University, Harrison Barrett of the University of Arizona, and Norbert Pelc of Stanford University.

"The medical imaging community, especially attendees of the SPIE Medical Imaging conference, have repeatedly voiced the need for a peer-reviewed avenue for the research they present at the conference," Dr. Giger said in her inaugural editorial. "Having both the proceedings of the conference and now this peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Imaging will fulfill these multiple needs, as well as introduce an effective mechanism for the dissemination and archiving of scientific research and developments in medical imaging from proceedings to peer-reviewed journal."

The journal's scope spans the physics of medical imaging, tomographic reconstruction algorithms, image processing, computer-aided diagnosis, visualization and modeling, PACS and imaging informatics, image perception and observer performance, technology assessment, ultrasonic imaging, image-guided procedures, robotic interventions, digital pathology, and biomedical applications in molecular, structural, and functional imaging.

JMI will include special sections on "Pioneers in Medical Imaging," with the first one in memory of Robert F. Wagner, a distinguished imaging physicist and a founder of the SPIE Medical Imaging symposium.

Letters, book reviews, and reviews on focused topics in medical imaging as well as highlights from the annual SPIE Medical Imaging symposium will also be included.

Articles on image processing, computer-aided diagnosis, and biomedical applications in molecular, structural, and functional imaging are among the journal's first papers. Some of the articles are:

• In "Quality evaluation of digital fundus images through combined measures," Diana Veiga, University of Minho, and co-authors describe development of a new system to evaluate image quality, an important step before automatic analysis of retinal images in making a diagnosis. Their system could particularly help when time is critical for making decisions about images of dubious quality and advising on whether to capture a new image.
• A paper on "Generalized method for partial volume estimation and tissue segmentation in cerebral magnetic resonance images," by April Khademi, University of Guelph, et al., presents an algorithm that can be used to enhance magnetic resonance images (MRIs) to improve accuracy in analyzing cerebral anatomy and disease or injury in the brain.
• Promising results warranting implementation in computer-aided diagnostics of breast cancer are reported in "Segmentation of breast masses on dedicated breast computed tomography and three-dimensional breast ultrasound images," by Hsien-Chi Kuo, University of Chicago, et al. Their new method obtained results for both dedicated breast CT and automated 3D breast ultrasound images, laying a foundation for further quantitative image analysis and potential expansion to other 3D imaging modalities.
• "Clinical cross-polarization optical coherence tomography assessment of subsurface enamel below dental resin composite restorations," by Patricia Lenton, University of Minnesota, et al., describes a newly designed intraoral swept source cross-polarization optical coherence tomography imaging system used to examine the integrity of the subsurface enamel below resin composite restorations placed in primary teeth.

Additional papers are on topics in these areas as well as image-guided procedures, robotic interventions, and modeling; and image perception, observer performance, and technology assessment.

All online JMI articles are freely available to readers through 2015.

The SPIE Digital Library contains more than 400,000 items from SPIE journals, proceedings, and books, with approximately 18,000 new research papers added each year. Abstracts are freely searchable, and an increasing number of journal articles are published with open access.

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves nearly 256,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided more than $3.2 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2013.

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