Call for Papers: Next-Generation Intelligent Medical Imaging

Medical imaging is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by breakthroughs in AI, computational imaging, and molecular probe design that are reshaping how diagnostic information is acquired, processed, and translated into clinical insights. By integrating next-generation imaging modalities, smart contrast agents, and data-driven analysis, these intelligent systems are enabling earlier detection, quantitative biomarker extraction, personalized risk assessment, and adaptive treatment guidance.

Digital Medical Engineering seeks contributions on integrated platforms that acquire, reconstruct, analyze, and interpret medical imaging data from modalities including but not limited to MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-ray, optical imaging, PET, and histopathology. Submissions should emphasize systems in which imaging technology, computational methodology, and clinical relevance are closely linked, and should clearly articulate how the proposed approach advances precision health through patient-specific measurement, AI-driven insight, or clinically meaningful validation.

Topics of Interest

Submissions may include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

Intelligent Imaging Acquisition, Reconstruction, and Analysis

• Deep learning-based reconstruction, denoising, super-resolution, artifact correction, and synthetic image generation.
• AI-driven techniques to reduce contrast dose, radiation exposure, or scan time
• Domain adaptation, federated learning, and self-supervised learning for robust imaging across populations.
• Multi-task, continual, and foundation models for segmentation, classification, detection, and quantification.
• Radiomics, computational biomarkers, explainable AI, and clinical decision support systems.

Advanced Imaging Probes, Materials, and Modalities

• Smart molecular probes, activatable contrast agents, targeted ligands, and nanoparticle tracers for functional and lesion-specific imaging.
• Biocompatible, biodegradable, and nanomaterial-based contrast agents with optimized pharmacokinetics and targeting.
• Optical, molecular, computational imaging, and multimodal platforms integrating structural, functional, and molecular information.
• Virtual biopsies, spectroscopic techniques, intraoperative imaging, and miniaturized point-of-care platforms.
• Emerging and established imaging modalities: MRI, CT, ultrasound, optical imaging, PET, SPECT, etc.

Clinical Translation, Theranostics, and Precision Health

• Imaging-enabled digital biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis, and longitudinal monitoring.
• AI-driven disease progression forecasting and predictive modeling.
• Theranostic platforms integrating imaging with therapeutic functions for image-guided intervention and response monitoring.
• Preclinical and clinical validation, and integration with electronic health records, wearables, and multimodal patient data.
• Disease-domain intelligent imaging applications in neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, breast cancer, dermatology, gastrointestinal diseases, and other clinical specialties.

Organizing Editors

Prof. Rui Wang, Guest Editor
Southeast University, China

Prof. Ja-Hyoung Ryu, Guest Editor
UNIST, Republic of Korea

Prof. Yu Sun, Guest Editor
University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Prof. Yong Fan, Associate Editor, Digital Medical Engineering
University of Pennsylvania, United States

Submission Information

Manuscripts accepted for inclusion in this Special Issue will be highlighted as a significant contribution to this expanding field. If accepted, publications will go online as soon as possible with a DOI, and will be published in one of the next available issues. Publications on this topic will be assembled into a Special Issue and widely promoted.

Submissions are welcome through Dec 20, 2026. All articles will be peer reviewed prior to acceptance to ensure they fit the scope of the Special Issue and meet the scientific publishing standards of Digital Medical Engineering. The peer review process for all papers will be managed by the journal editors to ensure rigor is maintained.

Digital Medical Engineering is an open access journal. Article Publishing Charges (APCs) are waived for the submissions before December 31, 2028.

How to Submit

• Log in to the ACS Publishing Center.
• Select your manuscript type; upload your manuscript and related files.
• Review the title and abstract fields to ensure any pre-populated information has uploaded correctly.
• Under "Special Issue Selection," select Next-Generation Intelligent Medical Imaging.
• Confirm all other information has uploaded correctly.
• Submit your article.

Please see our Author Guidelines for more information on submission requirements. The deadline for submissions is December 20, 2026.