The Journal of Biomedical Informatics has been redesigned to reflect a commitment to high-quality original research papers and reviews in the area of biomedical informatics. Although published articles are motivated by applications in the biomedical sciences (for example, clinical medicine, health care, population health, imaging, and bioinformatics), the journal emphasizes reports of new methodologies and techniques that have general applicability and that form the basis for the evolving science of biomedical informatics. Articles on medical devices and formal evaluations of completed systems, including clinical trials of information technologies, would generally be more suitable for publication in other venues. Papers on applications of signal processing and image analysis are often more suitable for biomedical engineering journals, although we do publish papers that emphasize the information management and knowledge representation/modeling issues that arise in the storage and use of biological signals. System descriptions are welcome if they illustrate and substantiate the underlying methodology that is the principal focus of the report.

All manuscripts submitted to Journal of Biomedical Informatics:

• should contain original work; the original source of any previously published figures or text must be fully cited and all necessary permission to use previously published material must be obtained
• must not be currently under consideration by any other journal
• require the approval of all co-authors that the manuscript be submitted in its present form to JBI

Please see the Scientific Conduct editorial published in the Journal of Biomedical Informatics.

Submission of Manuscripts

It is a condition of publication that all manuscripts must be written in clear and grammatical English and be submitted to the Journal of Biomedical Informatics Web site at http://ees.elsevier.com/yjbin. Authors are requested to transmit the text and art of the manuscript in electronic form to this address. Minimal exceptions will be allowed. Each manuscript must also be accompanied by a cover letter outlining the basic findings of the paper and their significance. Complete instructions are available at the submission Web site. Authors who are unable to provide an electronic version should contact the editorial office prior to submission (e-mail: jbi@elsevier.com; telephone: (619) 699-6392; or fax: (619) 699-6211).
Please note that figures and tables should be embedded in the text as close as possible to where they are initially cited. It is also mandatory to upload separate graphic and table files as these will be required if your manuscript is accepted for publication.

Language polishing. For information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission, please visit http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/languagepolishing or contact authorsupport@elsevier.com. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods, or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms and Conditions.

Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that no substantial portion of the study has been published or is under consideration for publication elsewhere and that its submission for publication has been approved by all of the authors and by the institution where the work was carried out. Manuscripts that do not meet the general criteria or standards for publication in the Journal of Biomedical Informatics will be immediately returned to the authors, without detailed review.

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright, see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided after acceptance.

If material from other copyrighted works is included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: contact Elsevier Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com.

US National Institutes of Health (NIH) voluntary posting/"Public Access Policy"

Elsevier facilitates author posting in connection with the voluntary posting request of the NIH (referred to as the NIH "Public Access Policy"; see http://publicaccess.nih.gov/) by submitting the peer-reviewed author's manuscript directly to PubMed Central on request from the author, immediately after final publication. Please e-mail us at NIHauthorrequest@elsevier.com that your work has received NIH funding (with the NIH grant/project number(s), as well as the name and e-mail address of the Principal Investigator(s)) and that you intend to respond to the NIH request. Upon such confirmation, Elsevier will submit to PubMed Central on your behalf a version of your manuscript that will has been updated to respond to peer-review comments, for public access posting 12 months after the final publication date. This will ensure that you will have responded fully to the NIH request policy. There will be no need for you to post your manuscript directly to PubMed Central, and any such posting is prohibited (although Elsevier will not request that manuscripts authored and posted by US government employees should be taken down from PubMed Central). Individual modifications to this general policy may apply to some Elsevier journals and its society publishing partners.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout (including tables, footnotes, references, and figure captions) using standard one-column formatting with 1-inch margins on both sides.

Number the pages consecutively. Page 1 should contain the article title, author(s), and affiliation(s); at the bottom of the page type the name, complete mailing address (including zip code), e-mail address, and fax number of the person to whom proofs should be sent. Page 2 should contain a short abstract, approximately 100 to 150 words in length. After the abstract a list of up to 10 keywords that will be useful for indexing or searching should be included.

LaTeX documents
Should you use LaTex, please note the following. The article should preferably be written using Elsevier's document class "elsart", or alternatively the standard document class "article". The Elsevier LaTeX package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation) can be obtained from the Quickguide: http://www.elsevier.com/latex. It consists of the files: elsart.cls, guidelines for users of elsart, a template file for quick start, and the instruction booklet "Preparing articles with LaTeX". The structure of the LaTex template file may differ slightly from the structure described above.

Headings
The organization of the paper must be clearly indicated by appropriate headings and subheadings. A Conclusions section should clearly summarize the range of applicability of the methodology described in the article.

References
References should follow the Vancouver style; that is, they should be cited in the text by consecutive Arabic numbers in square brackets and listed at the end of the paper in numerical order.

[1] Farenc C, Fabreguette J-R, Bressolle F. Pk-fit: a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and statistical data analysis software. Comput Biomed Res 2000;33:315-29.

[2] Berkowitz RS, Goldstein DP. Presentation and management of molar pregnancy. In: Hancock BW, Newlands ES, Berkowitz RS, editors. Gestational trophoblastic disease. London: Chapman & Hall; 1997, p. 127-42.

[3] Shortliffe EH, editor. Medical informatics: computer applications in health care (health informatics). New York: Springer-Verlag; 2000.

[4] Curtin JP. Radical hysterectomy--the treatment of choice for early-stage cervical carcinoma [editorial]. Gynecol Oncol 1996;62:137-8.

5. Breast Cancer Information Core (BIC) databases. Available at http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/ Intramural_research/Lab_transfer/Bic/.

Abbreviations of journal names should follow Index Medicus. Unpublished observations and personal communications should be cited in the text as such, and should not be included in the reference list.

Articles in Special Issues: Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added (in the list and text) to any references to other articles in this Special Issue.

Figures
Number figures consecutively with Arabic numerals. All figures, including photographs, should be submitted as electronic files. Legends are to be typed together on a separate sheet. Please visit our Web site http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions for detailed instructions on preparing electronic artwork.

Color figures or plates in the printed issue will be accepted only if the authors defray the cost. However, if together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures, then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. Please note: Because of technical complications that can arise in converting color figures to "gray scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for color in print), please submit in addition usable black-and-white files corresponding to all the color illustrations.

Tables
Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text. Each table should be given a short descriptive title directly above it, with essential footnotes below.

Equations
Number equations consecutively, with the number placed in parentheses to the extreme right of the equation. Refer to equations as Eq. (3) or simply (3). Punctuate equations to conform to their place in the syntax of the sentence.

Proofs

PDF proofs will be e-mailed to the corresponding author. To avoid delay in publication, only necessary changes should be made, and corrections should be returned promptly.