Submissions

Author Guidelines

Radiology and Molecular Imaging (Rad & Mol Image) is an international, multidisciplinary journal for researchers and clinicians that focuses on radiology, molecular imaging, and various imaging modalities. The journal is a scientific, open-access periodical published through  an independent, unbiased, and double-blind peer-reviewed process.

The journal aims to publish reviews, pictorial essays, technical notes, case reports, and original research of the highest scientific and clinical value in all fields of radiology and nuclear medicine.

Manuscripts submitted to "Radiology and Molecular Imaging" will undergo a double-blind peer-review process. Each submission will be reviewed by at least two external, independent peer reviewers who are experts in their fields to ensure an unbiased evaluation process. The editorial board will invite an external and independent editor to oversee the evaluation processes of manuscripts submitted by editors or by the editorial board members of the journal. The Editor-in-Chief is the final authority in the decision-making process for all submissions.

An approval of research protocols by the Ethics Committee according to international agreements (World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects,” amended in October 2013, www.wma.net) is necessary for experimental, clinical, drug studies, and some case reports. If necessary, ethics committee reports or an equivalent official document will be requested from the authors. For manuscripts reporting experimental research involving humans, it is essential to include a statement confirming that written informed consent was obtained from patients and volunteers. This consent should be obtained after providing a detailed explanation of the procedures they may undergo. For studies conducted on animals, it is essential to clearly outline the measures taken to prevent the pain and suffering of the animals.

Ethical committee approval may be requested by the editors for research studies. Authors are responsible for the contents of the manuscripts and for the accuracy of the references. The authors should ensure that the manuscripts have not been previously published or are under consideration for publication elsewhere. The signed author's statement, outlining the responsibilities of all authors, and a declaration of the absence of conflicts of interest are required. All manuscripts undergo review by the editor, an associate editor, and at least two experts/reviewers.

The editorial and publication processes of the journal are guided by the standards set forth by the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All submissions are screened using similarity detection software (iThenticate by CrossCheck). The similarity rate limit set for our journal is 20%.

All manuscripts must be submitted online through the manuscript submission system on the website. Authors are required to submit the following:

• Copyright Transfer and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form, and
• ICMJE Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (should be filled in by all contributing authors)

Rad & Mol Image requires corresponding authors to submit a signed and scanned version of the Copyright Transfer and Acknowledgement of Authorship Form during the initial submission process. This is necessary to uphold authorship rights and prevent ghost or honorary authorship. If the editorial board suspects a case of "gift authorship," the submission will be rejected without further review. As part of the manuscript submission, the corresponding author should also provide a brief statement declaring their acceptance of all responsibilities for authorship during the submission and review stages of the manuscript.

Rad & Mol Image requires and encourages authors and individuals involved in the manuscript evaluation process to disclose any existing or potential conflicts of interest, including financial, consulting, and institutional relationships that could result in bias or a conflict of interest. Any financial grants or other support received for a submitted study from individuals or institutions should be disclosed to the Editorial Board. To disclose a potential conflict of interest, all contributing authors should complete and submit the ICMJE Potential Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form. Cases of potential conflicts of interest involving editors, authors, or reviewers are resolved by the journal's Editorial Board following COPE and ICMJE guidelines.

The Editorial Board of the journal manages all appeal and complaint cases following the COPE guidelines. Authors should directly contact the editorial office for appeals and complaints. If necessary, an ombudsperson may be appointed to address cases that cannot be resolved internally. The Editor-in-Chief has the ultimate authority in the decision-making process for all appeals and complaints.

Manuscript Categories

Review Articles: Review articles are welcome, but they should be topical and not merely an overview of the literature. The main text should include the Introduction, Clinical and Research Consequences, and Conclusion sections. Review articles should not exceed 5,000 words in length and must include an abstract.

Research Article: Original full-length research papers that have not been previously published, except in a preliminary form, may be submitted as regular papers. Original research papers should not exceed 3,000 words (the 3,000-word limit applies to the main text of the paper only). This is the most important type of article since it provides new information based on original research. The main text of original articles should be structured with “Introduction”, “Materials and Methods”, “Results”, and “Discussion and Conclusion” subheadings. Statistical analysis to support conclusions is usually necessary. Statistical analyses must be according to international statistical reporting standards (Altman DG, Gore SM, Gardner MJ, Pocock SJ. Statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals. Br Med J 1983: 7; 1489-93). Information on statistical analyses should be provided with a separate subheading under the Materials and Methods section, and the statistical was used during the process must be specified.

Case Series: Rad & Mol Image accepts Case Series that have a significant clinical impact. Case Series should be particularly original, such as the “first” cases of a disease or condition (e.g., the first human CT scan of H1N1, the first ultrasound of a patient infected with Zika virus). Upon submission, these will undergo a screening process for potential suitability before peer review. Only those cases judged to have sufficient clinical impact will undergo a full peer-review process. Word count: no more than 2000 words (Introduction to Discussion). Abstract: Unstructured and no more than 100 words. Reference Limit: 20. Figure Limit (individual images, charts, or graphs): 6. Table Limit: 0.

Case Reports: Case reports should present important and rare clinical experiences. They should consist of the following parts: introduction, case presentation, and discussion. These papers should not exceed 1,500 words in length and should follow the structure of an original research paper.

Image Presentation: High-quality images should depict significant and uncommon clinical cases. The text should not exceed 700 words. Titles of the images should not exceed 10 words. Images can be signed by a maximum of 3 authors. Figure legends are limited to 200 words, and the number of figures is limited to 6. Video submissions will not be considered.

Letters to the Editor are opinions regarding articles published in this journal. The editor may request responses to the letters. The text does not have separate sections. Abstracts, keywords, tables, figures, images, and other media should not be included. The text should be unstructured. The is being commented on must be properly cited within this manuscript. The text should not exceed 700 words.

Before you Begin:

The journal Radiology and Molecular Imaging has established a standard Word format (title page and main text) for authors to conveniently and accurately upload their articles. Before uploading the article, please download the provided Word document and complete the required fields. If the article draft is in your own Word document, kindly copy and paste the relevant text into the designated sections of the document provided by the journal. It is essential to thoroughly review the author's guidelines regarding the article format. By following these instructions, the likelihood of encountering issues during the upload process is significantly reduced.

Details

Please provide the following details to help us manage your submission in our system.

Title:

• • Be clear and concise: Your title should indicate the subject matter of your manuscript succinctly. Avoid unnecessary words, please.
  • Include key concepts: Include the primary keywords or concepts that accurately represent the content of your manuscript. This helps readers quickly identify the relevance of your research to their interests.
  • Be descriptive but not too long: Aim for a title that is descriptive enough to convey the essence of your research but concise enough to be easily digestible. Typically, titles are around 10 to 15 words long.

  • Highlight the main point: Your title should emphasize the main findings or contributions of your research. It should provide readers with a clear understanding of what they can expect to learn from reading your manuscript.

  • Avoid using abbreviations in the title, with exceptions for CT, MR, MRI, PET, US, BI-RADS, LI-RADS, and PIRADS.

Abstract: The word limit for this abstract is 250 words.

• Objectives: The abstract should commence with a brief background of the study, outlining the research question or objectives. It should also briefly elucidate the study's significance and its relevance to the field.

• Materials and Methods:
• Study design: Prospective/retrospective study.
• Description of the index test and reference standard.
• Please describe the compared groups, interventions, and control groups.
• Participations: Main eligibility criteria for participants.
• Single or multicenter
• Modalities/Interventions
• Summary of statistical tests conducted.
• Results:
• In the first sentence, please specify the number, gender, and mean age ± standard deviation of the patients/participants enrolled.
• Please summarize the key findings of the study.
• Please emphasize the key findings and any statistically significant results.
• Utilize quantitative data where applicable, but refrain from overwhelming the reader with excessive detail.
• Conclusion:
• Conclude the abstract with a clear statement of the study's main conclusions. Emphasize how the findings contribute to existing knowledge in the field and any potential implications for clinical practice or further research.

Keywords:

• There should be a minimum of 3 to 6 keywords at the end of the summary.
• These keywords help index the article for database searches and increase its visibility.

Introduction: Include short paragraphs (2–3 sentences each) on the following:

• Summary of the unresolved scientific inquiries:
• Purpose of the investigation: The investigation aims to identify the problem being addressed, evaluate the extent to which existing literature has attempted to resolve it, and determine its significance in the current clinical context.
• How do you plan to solve this problem?
• For prospective studies, please remember to include your hypothesis.
• For retrospective studies, it is important to clearly define the research objective.
• Avoid including sentences that do not provide specific value to your study.

Materials and Methods: This section should provide enough detail to allow the replication of the experimental work.

• The first sentence should address institutional review board (IRB) approval, patient informed consent, and reference human and animal rights declarations and regulations.
• The study design should indicate whether it is retrospective or prospective.
• The study includes information about the date range of patient enrollment and the retrieval method.
• Criteria for inclusion and exclusion, whether consecutive or random selection.
• Description of the index test and reference standard (optionally in a dedicated table).
• Explanation of how the evaluation was performed.
• Mention any instruments or drugs (including contrast agents) used, along with their trade names and manufacturers' names in parentheses (do not include the country of origin).
• Statistical methods are used to analyze the data.

Results: The results section should describe the outcomes of the study. Data should be presented as concisely as possible, preferably using tables or figures.

• After applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria outlined in the methods, please describe the final cohort.
• Use Figure 1 to represent the flowchart of the study, from the initial retrieval to the final study cohort.
• Summarize the demographics of your study in Table 1, which indicates the mean age ± standard deviation or median age and interquartile range of the patients/participants, as well as the number of men versus women.
• Utilize tables and figures to illustrate your findings.
• If applicable, maintain the same structure in the Results section as in the Materials and Methods (using the same subheadings).
• Make efforts to enhance the readability of the results by presenting them simply and logically. 
• Please report all statistical analyses conducted, including both significant and non-significant findings.
• Try to cite all figures and tables in the Results section.
• Avoid elaborating on trends or any insignificant results.
• Please avoid including any statistical results based on tests that were not included in the corresponding section of Materials and Methods.
• Please refrain from including interpretations or opinions in the results section.

Discussion: The discussion should include an interpretation of the results and their significance to the work of other authors. It should be written clearly and concisely following the structure outlined below.

• 1st paragraph: Summarize and interpret the results clearly and directly.
• 2nd paragraph: Comparison with the existing literature, background, and any relevant comments.
• 3rd paragraph: Outline biases and limitations, explaining in detail what the limitations are and how these can be addressed in potential future studies.
• 4th paragraph: A concise and direct conclusion should be provided, incorporating a statement regarding the clinical implications or relevance of your study. Please support your conclusion with the primary findings of your study.
• Avoid redundant information already presented in the introduction.
• Avoid initiating the discussion with broad considerations about the topic or illness.
• Please refrain from introducing any new findings. The discussion should be based solely on the results presented in the preceding chapter.
• Avoid making general statements or drawing premature conclusions.
• Avoid drawing speculative conclusions based on authors' opinions and desires.

References:

Rad & Mol Image offers the NLM (National Library of Medicine) citation style for references. All references must be published or, at least, accepted for publication (DOI must be available); in other words, do not use references that have not been accepted for publication. Citations in the text should be in Arabic numerals typed in brackets, e.g., (2, 5, 12). References must be listed in the order they appear in the text. If there are 6 authors or fewer, provide the names of all authors should be provided (i.e., do not use "et al."). If there are 7 authors or more, only list the names of the first 6 authors followed by "et al". When reference names are used in the article, place the reference next to the name, not at the end of the sentence. Example: Mann et al. (12).........

Please adhere to the reference style specified below.

Journal Article Format:
Mann RM, Balleyguier C, Baltzer PA, Bick U, Colin C, Cornford E, et al. Breast MRI: EUSOBI recommendations for women's information. Eur Radiol. 2015 Dec;25(12):3669-3678. doi: 10.1007/s00330-015-3807-z.

Book Format:
Johnson EF, Smith JK. Principles of Pharmacology. 3rd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2018.

Book Chapter Format:
Adams K. Diabetes Management. In: Brown A, ed. Medical Advances in Endocrinology. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: Springer; 2017. p. 123-145.

If more than one editor: eds.

Conference Proceedings:
Kahraman C, Cevik Onar S, Oztaysi B, Sari IU, Cebi S, Tolga AC (eds). Intelligent and Fuzzy Techniques: Smart and Innovative Solutions. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. In: Yurttakal AH, Erbay H, İkizceli T, Karaçavuş S, Biçer C. Classification of Breast DCE-MRI Images via Boosting and Deep Learning-Based Stacking Ensemble Approach. Proceedings of the INFUS 2020 Conference, Istanbul, Turkey: Springer Publishers; July 21-23, 2020; pp. 1125-1133.

Thesis:
Smith AB. The Role of Exercise in Managing Diabetes [Master's thesis]. New York, NY: New York University; 2020. 

Epub Ahead of Print Articles:
Smith AB, Jones CD. The role of vitamin D in immune function. J Immunol. 2020 [cited 2020 Jan 15]; Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1016/j.jim.2020.12345.

Manuscripts Published in Electronic Format:
Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis (serial online). 1995 Jan-Mar (cited 1996 June 5): 1(1): (24 screens). Available from: URL: http:// www.cdc.gov/ncidodlElD/cid.htm.

Website:
World Health Organization. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. https://covid19.who.int/. Published 2020. Updated daily. Accessed June 10, 2024.

Dataset:
[dataset] [6] Oguro M, Imahiro S, Saito S, Nakashizuka T. Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions. Mendeley Data, v1; 2015. https://doi.org/10.17632/xwj98nb39r.1.

Abbreviations and Acronyms:

• Non-commonly used abbreviations and acronyms should be listed and defined after the key points.
• These terms should be used consistently where appropriate and necessary, and they should be defined at the first mention in the abstract.
• Radiation and laboratory measurements should be given using the International System of Units (SI).

Tables: Tables help the reader understand large sets of data by summarizing them clearly and concisely. They must be numbered in Arabic numerals and should include a title.

• All abbreviations in the table must be explained.
• Footnotes in tables are denoted by superscript lowercase letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data).
• Cite each table in numerical order in the main text.
• Limit your tables to no more than one page when typed.
• Provide information on statistical variability when applicable, such as standard deviations for mean values or confidence intervals.
• Ensure that tables are self-explanatory and can be understood without referring to the results section.
• Indicate sub-sections of the first column by indenting the items within a section.
• Ensure that each column maintains consistent headings throughout.
• Ensure that each row maintains consistent headings throughout the entire row.
• Each item of data should be contained within its cell.
• Define all abbreviations used in tables in the footnotes of each respective table.
• Indicate the significance of any special characters/symbols or font typeface (bold, italic) in the footnote.
• Avoid using special typefaces or symbols unless they hold special significance.

Figure Captions: Figure captions should be comprehensible without reading the entire paper. The descriptions should be brief and offer clear explanations of the illustrations.

• Please describe all the images depicted in the figure.
• Address and explain any symbols or visual aids used in the figure (e.g., arrows, arrowheads, asterisks, lines, color shades), ensuring that they are visible and of an appropriate size. Unless explicitly required, these should be black or white.
• Please define all abbreviations shown in the images and provide all units of measurement.
• Please describe the entire figure and highlight the characteristics or distinctions in the individual panels.
• Any uncommon abbreviations used in the caption must be fully spelled out when first introduced.
• Multiple images (panels) within one figure should be marked with a lowercase letter (e.g., "a"). Please refer to Figure 1a and Figure 2b for each panel. These should be addressed in the figure captions using the same lowercase letters.
• Figure numbers and captions should be included only in the caption (and not embedded in the figure file).