Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing was founded in 1963 under the name Medical Electronics & Biological Engineering but extended its scope in this fast-growing discipline and now incorporates the whole range of biomedical engineering, science and technology. It presents vital experimental and theoretical developments, and reports on advances in computer-based methodologies. In addition to Original Research Articles, Reviews, Technical Notes, and Rapid Communications, the journal includes a Controversies section which provides a forum for debating selected issues.
The journal is to be published monthly rather than bi-monthly, streamlining the flow of papers and shortening the period between acceptance and publication. Newly appointed editor-in-chief Jos A. E. Spaan of the University of Amsterdam has formed an interdisciplinary team of associate editors beneficial to the broad aims of the journal. The deputy editor and a new editorial board ensure strong journal development in the future, and a newly designed cover signals this. Articles are published in Online First via SpringerLink, Springer's premier electronic information platform.
"MBEC is beginning a new chapter with many changes," said Joachim H. Nagel, President of the IFMBE. "By collaborating with Springer, one of the most respected publishers in the scientific community, we aim to improve the standing and increase the readership of the journal. Especially exciting is that MBEC is immediately available at 200 consortia comprising over 4,000 institutions and 10 million desktops."
Dieter Merkle, Editorial Director, at Springer said, "We are looking forward to helping this important journal become even more influential in the biomedical engineering community. Springer's work with scientific partners, such as IFMBE, lets us play a key role in bringing the latest research results to a global audience."
The International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (www.ifmbe.org) is primarily a federation of national and international organizations representing interests in medical and biological engineering. Within this field, IFMBE's aims are to encourage research and the application of knowledge, to disseminate information and promote collaboration. It comprises 56 societies with more than 120,000 members.
Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of scientific and specialist literature. It is the second-largest publishing group in the science, technology, and medicine (STM) sector and the largest business-to-business publisher in the German-language area. The group owns 70 publishing houses, together publishing a total of 1,450 journals and more than 5,000 new books a year. The group operates in over 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and has some 5,000 employees. In 2005, it generated annual sales of around EUR 836 million.