Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine is available through Elsevier's Electronic Submission System (EES) http://ees.elsevier.com/cmpb
Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine is dedicated to the scientific development, implementation and exchange of formal methods and computer software systems in biomedical research and medical practice. It is designed to serve biomedical researchers; biomedical and clinical / health informaticians; medical researchers and practitioners; biologists; biochemists; biophysicists; geneticists; neuroscientists; cardiologists; psychologists; epidemiologists; immunologists; pharmacologists; biostatisticians; computer scientists, programmers and systems analysts; biomedical, clinical and other engineers; teachers of medical informatics and users of educational software. The aims of the journal are: (1) to encourage the development of formal computing methods, and their application in biomedical research and medical practice, by illustration of fundamental principles in biomedical informatics; (2) to stimulate basic research into biomedical application software design; (3) to report the state of research of biomedical information processing projects; (4) to report new computer methodologies applied in biomedical areas; (5) to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of existing software, by describing implementations that can be directly used by other interested researchers; (6) to optimise contact between national organisations and regional user groups by promoting an international exchange of information on formal methods, standards and software in biomedicine; (7) to announce and report meetings of central interest.

Fields of interest

The application of computer science methodology and software to the full range of theoretical and clinical biomedical specialties, including: Biochemistry; Biophysics; Molecular biology; Genetics; Immunology; Microbiology; Cardiology; Neurophysiology; Radiotherapy; Pharmacology; Clinical psychology; Psychophysiology and social medicine; Biomedical informatics; Biostatistics; Biomedical mathematics and cybernetics; Biomedical, clinical and electrical engineering; Clinical decision support; Hospital information systems; Process control; Medical imaging; Ambulatory monitoring.

Contents

In Focus Papers These include: state of research papers on ongoing projects; future trends; software applications; computer-aided instruction in the laboratory and clinical practice; evolving hardware and software technology and its influence on health application design; developments in the science of biomedical computing, and areas listed under 'Section I. Methodology' below.

Section I. Methodology

Papers on methodology in established and maturing areas such as: (1) artificial intelligence; (2) man/machine interaction and interfaces (e.g., CAI, CAL, CAD/CAM, Decision support systems and voice-computer interaction); (3) database management; (4) biomedical modelling and simulation; (5) signal analysis; (6) image processing; (7) biosignal-based electronic prosthesis; (8) computer control of laboratory machines and devices; (9) computer communication networks; (10) computer architecture/software interaction, may be structured as follows:

1. Introduction. A discussion of the research or clinical issues underlying a project's design, the need for the methodology / system, and any pilot studies done to demonstrate the demand for, or feasibility of, such a methodology / system.

2 Background. This should be divided into two subtopics: a discussion of prior work by the authors that led to the current design decisions; and an analysis of related work in the literature. An acknowledgment, analysis and integration of lessons from related work by others is crucial.

3. Design considerations. A discussion of the principle design, performance and implementation goals, against which the success of the methodology / system should be assessed.

4. Description of method / system. A description of the theoretical basis of the computational method. A technical exposition of the overall architecture, the pertinent data structures, control mechanisms, etc. and a brief description of the hardware used, is required.

5. Status report. A description of the current status of the implementation, informal indicators of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology / system, and examples of its current level of performance are required.

6. Lessons learned. An analysis of the key insights gained from the work to date, focusing on the statement of general principles that can contribute to the knowledge in the field. The statement of such lessons must be well supported by examples. The emphasis should be on the statement of principles in such a form that they will be of use to other investigators in the field.

7. Mode of availability of software. The availability of demonstration/application software is a preferential criterion for acceptance.

8. Future plans. A discussion of how the research to date, and the lessons learned, have led to a specification of future research goals, and possible revisions in the design and implementation of the method / system.

9. References. A listing of literature consulted in order of citation in the text, according to the standard abbreviations and form described under 'Manuscript preparation' below.

Section II. Systems and program

In addition to papers describing software related to the methodology section above, papers on biomedical computer applications, original from the point of view of theoretical or technological approach, or describing the adaptation of existing software to the solution of specific problems, may be considered. No restrictions are made on the use of computer languages; the description and exchange of software widely applied in biomedical research and medical practice is considered of most importance. Papers on programs intended for Section II should cover the following items: (i) Introduction; (ii) Computational methods and theory; (iii) System or program description, preferably with structograms, or block diagrams and flow charts; (iv) Samples of typical system or program runs; (v) Hardware and software specifications; (vi) Mode of availability of the system or program; clear information is required; (vii) Listing of literature in order of citation in the text; (viii) Appendix expanding, when necessary, material in the text.

Section III. Experiences with methods, systems and programs - Reader's forum

Evaluation of methods and software applications, comments on existing computer applications published in related books or journals, and discussions of practical problems related to biomedical computing are invited from users. Cross evaluations of specific hardware and software, and letters to the Editor, are welcome.

Authors of methodological papers and systems and programs papers are encouraged to make their code or software programs available to others, in the first case in form of demonstration code, and in the second case as usable applications with suitable user interface.

International news

International conferences, regional symposia and workshops are announced and reported. Newsletters from biomedical informatics associations are abstracted.

Publications reviews

Relevant books, journals and software products received are listed or reviewed. Promotion material for recent publications is abstracted.

Submission of Articles Manuscripts are accepted on the understanding that they report unpublished work that is not under consideration elsewhere, that all authors have agreed to its submission and that, if accepted, it will not be published again in the same form, in any language, without the prior consent of the publisher. All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted. Authors who wish to submit papers for publication are requested to submit their manuscripts and figures online via the Elsevier Editorial System (EES): http://ees.elsevier.com/cmpb/ to the editor for the relevant geographical area (see below).
EES is a web-based submission and review system. Authors may submit manuscripts and track their progress through the system to publication. In case of technical submission problems, please contact Elsevier Author Support at authorsupport@elsevier.com

Authors are requested to submit their manuscripts and figures online via the Elsevier Editorial System (EES): http://ees.elsevier.com/cmpb/ to the editor for the relevant subject area or geographic area.

Editor: Yu-Chuan (Jack) Li, M.D., Ph.D., Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsin Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan.E-mail: jaak88@gmail.com

Associate Editor "Biomedical Image Analysis":

Ewert Bengtsson, Centre for Image Analysis, Uppsala University, Box 337, SE-751 05 Uppsala, Sweden. E-mail: ewert@cb.uu.se

Associate Editor "Biomedical Modelling & Simulation":

Karl Thomaseth, ISIP-CNR Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Corso Stati Uniti, 4, 35127 Padua, Italy.E-mail: karl.thomaseth@isib.cnr.it

Associate Editor "Biomedical Modelling & Simulation":

Ewart R. Carson, Centre for Health Informatics, City University, Northampton Square, London EC 1V OHB, UK. E-mail: e.r.carson@soi.city.ac.uk

Associate Editor " Biosignal Analysis and Interpretation (processing, pattern recognition, classification), Personal Health Systems"

Ioanna Chouvarda, Laboratory of Medical Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; The Centre for Research & Technology, Hellas, Greece. E-mail: ioanna@med.auth.gr.

US-Associate Editor "Biomedical image analysis, Medical informatics, Pattern recognition / Machine learning in biomedicine":

J.J. Corso , Computer Science and Engineering, SUNY at Buffalo, USA. E-mail: jcorso@buffalo.edu

Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship as defined above should be listed in an acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.

Conflict of interest At the end of the text, under a subheading "Conflict of interest statement" all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.

Role of the funding source
All sources of funding should be declared as an acknowledgement at the end of the text. Authors should declare the role of study sponsors, if any, in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. If the study sponsors had no such involvement, the authors should so state.

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References

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[1] F.T. de Dombal,Transporting databanks of medical information from on location to another, Effective Health Care 1 (1983) 155-162.

[2] P.F. Lemkin and L.E. Lipkin, Database techniques for two-dimensional electrophoretic gel analysis, in Computing in Biomedical Science, eds. M.J. Geisow and A.J. Barrett, pp. 181-234 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, New York NY, 1983).

[3] J.A. Roels, Relevance of the relaxation times concept to the modeling of bioengineering systems, in Energetics and Kinetics in Bio-technology, pp. 217-220 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, New York NY, 1983).

[4] R.B. Barlow, Line-fitting by least-squares: Expressions solved by iteration, in Biodata Handling with Microcomputers, Chap. 4 (Elsevier-Biosoft, Cambridge UK,1983).

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