Journal profile · Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Molecular Imaging and Biology
ISSN 1536-1632 · eISSN 1860-2002 · Springer International Publishing · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 2005
Molecular Imaging and Biology: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.52; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,190; median 140 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: moderate; 105 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Imaging and Biology is published by Springer International Publishing and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications, Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Applications and Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging, together about 37.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Imaging and Biology (MIB) invites original contributions (research articles, review articles, commentaries, etc.) on the utilization of molecular imaging (i.e., nuclear imaging, optical imaging, autoradiography and pathology, MRI, MPI, ultrasound imaging, radiomics/genomics etc.) to investigate questions related to biology and health. The objective of MIB is to provide a forum to the discovery of molecular mechanisms of disease through the use of imaging techniques. We aim to investigate the biological nature of disease in patients and establish new molecular imaging diagnostic and therapy procedures. Some areas that are covered are:Preclinical and clinical imaging of macromolecular targets (e.g., genes, receptors, enzymes) involved in significant biological processes. The design, characterization, and study of new molecular imaging probes and contrast agents for the functional interrogation of macromolecular targets. Development and evaluation of imaging systems including instrumentation, image reconstruction algorithms, image analysis, and display.Development of molecular assay approaches leading to quantification of the biological information obtained in molecular imaging. Study of in vivo animal models of disease for the development of new molecular diagnostics and therapeutics.Extension of in vitro and in vivo discoveries using disease models, into well designed clinical research investigations. Clinical molecular imaging involving clinical investigations, clinical trials and medical management or cost-effectiveness studies. Molecular Imaging and Biology (MIB) is the official journal of the World Molecular Imaging Society, the European Society for Molecular Imaging and the Federation of Asian Societies of Molecular Imaging.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Editor-in-chief Kimberly A. KellyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United States 29, Netherlands 3, Mainland China 2, India 2, Germany 2 (43 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Medical Imaging Techniques and ApplicationsMedicine20%
- Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and ApplicationsMedicine11.4%
- Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical ImagingMedicine5.8%
- Nanoplatforms for cancer theranosticsEngineering5.6%
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.9%
- Cancer Research and TreatmentsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- MRI in cancer diagnosisMedicine4.1%
- Advanced MRI Techniques and ApplicationsMedicine4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic Scholar
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.52LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.74LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 63LetPub ·
- h-index
- 90OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,417OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.21OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 43.58%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 100LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 536,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,466 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 | 30 | 14 |
| 2025 | 105 | 56 | 207 |
| 2024 | 82 | 54 | 336 |
| 2023 | 91 | 55 | 700 |
| 2022 | 102 | 67 | 1,287 |
| 2021 | 127 | 82 | 1,647 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
140 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 98 days – 199 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (93 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 167 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (190 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- ModerateLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 30 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,190 / EUR 3,490 / GBP 2,790 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Not considered
- multiple columns; field functions; titles or captions inside illustrations
Article types accepted8
- experience reportsExperience reports designed to provide a vehicle for a group to describe their experience with a new technology or method or a novel approach to using an existi…Length not stated
- hypothesis• Hypothesis-driven research and results containing important information relevant to the aims and scope of the Journal. The text should be arranged in the orde…Length not stated
- hypothesis-driven researchHypothesis-driven research and results containing important information relevant to the aims and scope of the Journal.Length not stated
- review• Hypothesis-driven research and results containing important information relevant to the aims and scope of the Journal. The text should be arranged in the orde…Length not stated
- reviewsReviews or tutorial based on extensive review of the literature.Length not stated
- technical note• Hypothesis-driven research and results containing important information relevant to the aims and scope of the Journal. The text should be arranged in the orde…Length not stated
- technical notesTechnical notes or technical tutorials with descriptions of how authors accomplished a particular task in a novel way.Length not stated
- tutorial• Hypothesis-driven research and results containing important information relevant to the aims and scope of the Journal. The text should be arranged in the orde…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author Contributions
Authors are encouraged to include a statement that specifies the contribution of every author to the research and preparation of the manuscript.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
Authors must disclose all relationships or interests that could influence or bias the work. Although an author may not feel there are conflicts, disclosure of relationships and interests affords a more transparent process, leading to an accurate and objective assessment of the work. Awareness of real or perceived conflicts of interests is a perspective to which the readers are entitled and is not …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
If TCIA data is used, a link to the imaging data must be included in the publication. Model summary
If you use the Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) for your research, this journal requires that you include a link in your publication to the imaging data used in your analysis.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Molecular Imaging and Biology, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review; authors must submit a full version and a blinded version without author names/affiliations. Model summary
This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. Authors are therefore requested to submit two version of their manuscript: • The full version including all author names and affiliations. • A blinded manuscript without any author names and affiliations in the text or on the title page. Self-identifying citations and references in the article text should either be avoided or left blank.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Abstract of 150 to 250 words, without undefined abbreviations or unspecified references. Model summary
Please provide an abstract of 150 to 250 words. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 2005
- ISSN
- 1536-1632
- Electronic ISSN
- 1860-2002
- Society / sponsor
- World Molecular Imaging Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 28, Issue 3 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Molecular Imaging and Biology
What CAS zone is Molecular Imaging and Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Imaging and Biology is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Molecular Imaging and Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.52; CiteScore 5.5, h-index 90.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Imaging and Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 93 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 140 days (interquartile range 98–199 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Moderate”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Molecular Imaging and Biology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Molecular Imaging and Biology based?
Of the 43 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (29), Netherlands (3) and Mainland China (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Molecular Imaging and Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Imaging and Biology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Molecular Imaging and Biology open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Imaging and Biology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .