A note from the lighthouse

Abstract

Dear readers, The European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (EJNMMI) has continued to make remarkable progress in 2006. In line with the growth observed last year, we are now consistently receiving more than 1,000 submissions within the calendar year (1,050 from October 2005 to October 2006, representing a 5% increase in total submissions, including original manuscripts, as compared with the previous year). This again impressively demonstrates the fertility of the field and the creativity of the authors and scientists involved in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. I am surprised (and pleased) to see that many of the best abstracts presented at the annual EANM congress in Athens have already been submitted to the EJNMMI for consideration. Our authors move quickly! Professor McKillop told us at the highlights lecture in Athens that we have passed the “pretty picture” stage, and now the underlying molecular mechanisms are being addressed using both new and existing tracers. Clearly the beauty of anatomical detail needs themolecular information provided by labelled tracers in order to properly impact upon patient diagnosis and management—without such information, all we have is another pretty picture. Certainly nuclear medicine is at the forefront of molecular imaging and leading many of the developments in the area, while the EJNMMI offers an integrative vehicle for the expression and dissemination of knowledge in this vast and dynamic field. During 2006, the Editor and Editorial Board have worked hard to select the most original and best articles from the impressive number of submissions, and to bring them expeditiously to the readership. Upon acceptance, rapid online publication has become a major feature of the journal. Once published online, the articles can be easily accessed and become citable. The acceptance rate of the EJNMMI is currently 20%, one of the lowest amongst the high-ranking journals in the field. On the one hand, I must congratulate all authors who had their articles accepted after such a tough peer review process, and on the other I must apologise to those whose work was declined only because of the limited priority of their subject and/or lack of space in the journal. This year, the average time from submission to decision has been 22 days. The average time from submission to final acceptance has been 65 days and from submission to rejection, 21 days. Once a manuscript has been accepted, it is online in less than 2 months and on paper in approximately 3 months. These are average figures, and sometimes the decision on a manuscript is delayed for unexpected reasons, such as conflicting reviews that require further analysis or an additional review. Of all manuscripts submitted, 55%were decided upon in less than 30 days, 38% in less than 60 days, 5% in less than 90 days and less than 2% in more than 90 days. These figures reflect the efficiency and speed of the review and editorial processes. This year, more than 450 reviewers have participated in the review process. The average turnaround time has been 14 days, the same as last year. It is difficult to reduce further the average turnaround time as it is obviously difficult for the expert reviewers to provide rigorous, detailed and balanced reviews in less than 2 weeks. Once again, it is time to thank all the experts who have participated in the review process and particularly to acknowledge those who do not belong to the EJNMMI Editorial Board (Table 1). They were selected on the basis of their publications on the subject of the article to be reviewed. As usual, this list includes those experts who have participated in the review process up until October, and I must apologise if anybody has unintentionally been omitted. In the era of electronic communication, when all of us are exposed to a massive amount of information that often exceeds our capacity to read and digest, reviewing articles is a serious responsibility. For any expert or scientist invited to review a paper, this task will represent a significant ethical burden additional to his or her busy Ignasi Carrio ()) Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital de Sant Pau, Avda. Sant Antoni Ma Claret, 167, 08025 Barcelona, Spain e-mail: icarrio@hsp.santpau.es