Prepare and Submit Manuscript

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING (TBME) publishes original contributions in any area of biomedical engineering that report novel engineering methods with demonstrated biomedical significance. Articles must contain original biomedical engineering content, including but not limited to development, theoretical analysis, critical evaluation/validation of a new experimental technique, and/or model pertinent to medicine and/or biological sciences. The goal of TBME is to publish comprehensive pieces of excellent science that engineering the medicine and biology. To be selected for publication at TBME, manuscripts must contain at least one of the two contributions: 1) a new novel engineering method which has been demonstrated to have an important impact to biomedical research or clinical applications; 2) important results that advance significantly the state of the art of biomedical research.

Readers are strongly encouraged to submit manuscripts as regular papers when a work is complete. Communications articles are no longer encouraged. The LETTER format is reserved only for exceptionally novel works which deserve very fast publication. To qualify for publication, manuscripts must be previously unpublished and not be under consideration elsewhere. All manuscripts are to be submitted through the Manuscript Central. A ScholarOne Manuscripts Author Guide is available.

All IEEE journals require an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) for all authors. ORCIDs enable accurate attribution and improved discoverability of an author’s published work. The author will need a registered ORCID in order to submit a manuscript or review a proof in this journal. Follow these steps to link a ScholarOne account to a registered ORCID:

1. Login to ScholarOne and click on your name in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Click E-mail / Name in the dropdown menu.
3. In the ORCID section at the top of the page, click the appropriate link to either register for a new ORCID or associate the account with an existing ORCID.
4. A new page will open to create and/or validate your ORCID. Once the validation is complete, the new page will close and you will return to ScholarOne.
5. Save the changes to your ScholarOne user account.

Authors who do not have an ORCID in their ScholarOne user account will be prompted to provide one during submission.

Please note that we accept full papers that have appeared in preliminary form as conference abstracts for consideration of publication in TBME. The authors should include a statement, often at the end of the introduction, such as “A preliminary version of this work has been reported [reference]” and cite such conference abstracts in reference. Note however that prior publication in an extensive conference paper would disqualify a manuscript for consideration for publication at TBME. We do not accept manuscripts which are similar to prior conference proceedings papers in key findings or with substantial overlap in text. Authors should check on copyright permissions if any figures were previously published in conference papers. Related conference papers published or submitted should be disclosed and submitted as a supporting document when submitting a manuscript to TBME for consideration for publication. If you would have prior conference proceedings papers related to the TBME submission, authors must include descriptions on why authors believe they represent different works as compared with the submission to TBME. They should also upload a copy of such conference papers as supporting documents.

During the login of an electronic submission in Manuscript central, the author will be asked to enter: the title, names and contact information for all authors (full mailing address, institutional affiliations, and e-mail), the abstract. The name of the Corresponding Author who will serve as the main point of contact for the manuscript during the review and publication processes is entered separately.

All submissions must be in the IEEE Format, as instructed in the Template Instructions. This format is for double column, single spaced text with embedded figures and tables ‐ the format required of final printed copy. The manuscripts should be prepared with the MS WORD template or the LATEX template, and should be converted to PDF for upload to Manuscript Central. Alternatively, Manuscript Central can convert MS Word files to PDF. please proof-read the converted manuscript to make sure it is correct.

All submissions must include a Cover Letter (less than 250 words) in the text box when submitting via Manuscript Central. PLEASE NOTE: this letter is only sent to the editors. Response to reviews should be submitted as a supporting document in the stage of file uploading, together with the revised manuscript.

• It must state clearly the work’s innovation and significance to biomedical research.
• It must confirm this manuscript is entirely original, has not been copyrighted, published, submitted, or accepted for publication elsewhere.
• It must disclose if there are any prior conference proceedings papers related to this work, and include a statement on why you believe the prior conference papers represent different works as compared with the submission to TBME. Please upload prior or concurrent conference proceedings papers as supporting documents.
• If it is a resubmission of a previously rejected manuscript, you must clearly state the rejected manuscript’s ID number.
• Please note that we accept full papers, which have appeared in preliminary form as conference abstracts for consideration of publication. The authors should include a statement, often at the end of the introduction, such as “A preliminary version of this work has been reported [reference]” and cite such conference abstracts in reference. Note however that prior publication in an extensive conference paper may disqualify a manuscript for consideration for publication at TBME. We do not accept manuscripts which are similar to prior conference proceedings papers in key findings or with substantial overlap in text. Authors should check on copyright permissions if any figures were previously published in conference papers. Concurrent submission of a conference paper must be disclosed when submitting a manuscript to TBME for consideration for publication.

The title should be concise and informative to broad readers and attract attention from potential readers.

Structured abstract (see the Template Instructions) must be less than 250 words and address the following 5 points: objective, methods, results, conclusion, and significance. The abstract should indicate the objective of the study, methods, results, conclusions, and one sentence statement of significance to biomedical research. This will make the abstract, by itself, a useful tool for information retrieval. Please be ready with this information when logging in Manuscript Central. If any of these is not clearly addressed, the manuscript may be returned without review.

They should appear embedded in the text. All the text, figures, and tables should be in one file with a size of less than 10 MB for review purpose. Separate instructions will be given for preparation of final versions of accepted manuscripts. As computer software gives great flexibility in the creation of figures, we expect that figures, when printed both in draft and final version, will be visibly clear and clearly annotated so that they communicate easily and precisely the information intended.

Each TBME article must include a conclusion section elaborating the major findings and significance of the work, as well as applications. This section should not exceed 300 words.

References cited in the IEEE style (see the Template Instructions) should appear (with 8 point font size) in a separate reference section at the end of this paper with items referred to by numerals in square brackets: a. Style for papers: Author(s), first initials followed by last name, title, periodical, volume, inclusive page numbers, month, year. b. Style for books: Author(s), title, location, publisher, year, chapter, page numbers. Note that when there are 3 or more authors for a reference, only list the first author, e.g. “F. Author et al., …”.

Beginning with the January 2018 issue, TBME will no longer include biographies or author photographs.

Once the paper is accepted, final submission will be made through the ScholarOne Manuscript Central website, and should be made within 10 days from the acceptance. See separate instructions for how to submit final manuscripts, including electronic preprint versions.

Eight (8) or fewer pages are expected for a regular manuscript. While a regular manuscript can have a maximum length of 12 pages, the authors are required to pay overlength charge of pages exceeding the eight (8) published, as noted below. Since changes recommended as a result of peer review may require additions to the manuscript, it is strongly recommended that authors practice economy in preparing original submissions. Some technical details such as math derivation or additional results may be included as online supplementary supplements. Also, note that the authors must seek explicit permission of the Editor-in-Chief for submission of a manuscript with a page length beyond 12 pages.

Authors are strongly encouraged to suggest 4 potential reviewers although they may not be requested to review the particular submission.

Letters are a 4-page version of regular papers with expedited publication if accepted. Longer LETTERS are not permitted at all. Note that LETTERS are reserved for exceptionally novel works and authors are strongly encouraged to submit regular papers. Given that the current TBME submission to decision is about 30 days, submission of regular papers is encouraged.

The resubmission of a previously rejected manuscript is discouraged, unless the decision letter states resubmission is an option.

By policy, IEEE owns the copyright to the technical contributions it publishes on behalf of the interests of the IEEE, its authors, and their employers; and to facilitate the appropriate reuse of this material by others. To comply with United States copyright law, authors are required to sign and submit a completed IEEE Copyright Form with their original submissions and again with the finalized manuscript prior to publication. This form, a copy of which appears in issues of the transactions, returns to authors and their employers full rights to reuse their material for their own purposes.

An Author Consent form for manuscripts that have more than one author is also required to ensure that all the authors are aware that the paper is being submitted to the Transactions. The IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society will apply sanctions against authors who are discovered to have made duplicate submissions to other journals. These sanctions are: (1) immediate rejection of the manuscript in question; (2) immediate return to the author and co-authors of any and all manuscripts currently under review; (3) prohibition against the authors/coauthors of any new submissions to any of the Society’s journals for one calendar year from date of formal notification. This form can be found at TBME Forms.

Upon acceptance, authors must submit the Copyright Form and Author Consent Form that can be found in TBME Forms.

Upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication, the author(s) or his/her/their company or institution will be asked to pay a charge of $110 per page to cover part of the cost of publication of the eight pages, which comprise the standard manuscript length (three pages for communications).

There is also a mandatory overlength page fee:

• @$250/page for the first two overlength pages and
• @$350/page for each of the remaining overlength pages.

Page limits:

• Regular paper – eight pages;
• Communication – three pages;
• Letter – four pages;
• Review paper – ten pages.

Please see the Page Charge form in TBME Forms for details.

There is a $2,045 Hybrid OA fee for 8-page manuscripts.

EMB members receive a 15% discount.

The author(s) or his/her/their company or institution will be billed the mandatory page charges, and the author(s) will be held responsible for them. Payment of these charges is not negotiable or voluntary; the author(s) signifies willingness and acceptance of the requirement to pay mandatory page charges. The Publisher holds the right to withhold publication of the current submission or any future submissions from the author(s) if this charge is not honored. To avoid incurring mandatory page charges, the author(s) are strongly advised to practice economy in the original manuscript submission and restraint in preparation of the final manuscript following peer review. Additional materials may be included as online supplementary materials after peer reviews.

Color figures are published in the online version free of charge.

Authors are required to submit finalized manuscripts using the style files established by IEEE by following the Template Instructions in preparation of the manuscript with a MS WORD template or a LATEX template.

Author Proof Login website where IEEE authors can keep track of, and provide input on, their articles throughout the production process.