Jan 21 2010
The Optical Society (OSA) today announced it is launching a new peer-reviewed journal focusing on biomedical optics and photonics. Biomedical Optics Express will launch this fall with monthly issues, joining OSA's portfolio of 12 peer-reviewed optics journals. Joseph A. Izatt, professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, will serve as the editor-in-chief.
Biomedical Optics Express will become OSA's principal outlet for serving the biomedical optics community with rapid, open-access publication of content related to optics, photonics and imaging in the life sciences. The journal scope encompasses theoretical modeling and simulations, technology development, biomedical studies and clinical applications. Topics will include tissue optics and spectroscopy, laser interactions with and manipulation of molecules, cells and tissues, novel microscopies, optical coherence tomography, diffuse optical tomography, photoacoustic and multimodal imaging, molecular imaging and therapies, as well as developments in nanophotonic biosensing, optical biophysics/photobiology, microfluidic optical devices, and vision research.
"With the rapid rise in biomedical research breakthroughs and the fast-paced nature of the field, Biomedical Optics Express will serve as a timely repository of highly regarded life sciences research," said Izatt. "We are thrilled to provide the community with this publication and look forward to receiving submissions from leading optics and biomedical researchers around the world."
Many features of the new journal will mirror those of the pioneering and highly successful OSA publication, Optics Express, including rapid, online open-access publication and availability of free color figures, movies, animations, and live reference links. Additional new features of particular interest to biomedical authors will include interactive science publishing capability for online visualization of large datasets, and automated submission of published articles to PubMed Central to assist authors funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in complying with federal open-access requirements.
"Biomedical Optics Express will complement OSA's successful biomedical optics programs and provide a unified platform for rapid dissemination of cutting-edge research," said OSA President James C. Wyant of the University of Arizona's College of Optical Sciences. "OSA is proud to launch this effort to enable better interaction among researchers across the disciplines that make up this vital community."