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Call for papers - Quantitative imaging and biomarkers

Guest Editors

Shuai Ren, MD, PhD, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China
Alessandro Stefano, PhD, National Research Council (CNR), Italy
Junjie Yao, PhD, Duke University, USA

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 15 July 2025


BMC Medical Imaging is calling for submissions to our Collection on Quantitative imaging and biomarkers. This interdisciplinary field bridges medical imaging, computational analysis, and biomarker research. As exemplified by radiomics, this field offers invaluable insights into biological processes, disease states, and treatment responses, through the extraction, analysis, and interpretation of quantitative measures from medical imaging data.

This Collection welcomes contributions describing novel biomarkers or novel imaging methodologies making use of them, as well as their clinical applications. 

New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Shuai Ren, MD, PhD, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China

Dr Shuai Ren, MD, PhD, is an expert in the Department of Radiology at the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. His research specialization includes miRNA markers and serum exosomes related to oncogenesis, progression, and prognosis of gastrointestinal cancers. Dr Ren has also made significant progress in developing radiomics signatures extracted from CT, MRI, and PET-CT imaging to aid in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic tumors that share similar clinical, pathological, and radiological characteristics. He serves as an editorial board member for BMC Medical Imaging, BMC Gastroenterology, and iRADIOLOGY. Additionally, Dr Ren is an associate editor for the European Journal of Medical Research and Frontiers in Oncology, as well as an academic editor for PLOS ONE.

Alessandro Stefano, PhD, National Research Council (CNR), Italy

Alessandro Stefano is a software engineering researcher at the CNR of Italy. His research is focussed on the development and application of non-invasive imaging techniques, such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Computerized Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance (MR). His work extensively explores the integration of Radiomics and Artificial Intelligence in clinical healthcare applications. Additionally, he specializes in the processing, quantification, and correction of both ex vivo and in vivo medical images, aiming to advance diagnostic and therapeutic practices through innovative imaging methodologies.

Junjie Yao, PhD, Duke University, USA

Dr Junjie Yao is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. Dr Yao earned his B.S. (2006) and M.S. (2008) degrees from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He completed his doctoral studies in 2013 and postdoctoral training in 2016 at Washington University in St. Louis, both under the mentorship of Dr Lihong V. Wang. Since joining Duke University in 2016, Dr Yao's research has focused on the development of photoacoustic tomography, super-resolution ultrasound imaging, passive cavitation mapping, and ultrasound bioprinting technologies for life sciences and clinical translation. Dr Yao received 2019 IEEE Photonic Society Young Investigator Award, 2021 National Jewish Fund Faculty Fellowship, 2022 NSF CAREER Award, and 2023 Rising Stars of Light Award. In 2023, he was elected as a Fellow of OPTICA (formerly OSA) and a Senior Member of SPIE.

About the Collection

BMC Medical Imaging is calling for submissions to our Collection on Quantitative imaging and biomarkers. This interdisciplinary field bridges medical imaging, computational analysis, and biomarker research. As exemplified by radiomics, this field offers invaluable insights into biological processes, disease states, and treatment responses, through the extraction, analysis, and interpretation of quantitative measures from medical imaging data. Leveraging modalities like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), fluorescence imaging, or novel techniques like magnetic particle imaging (MPI), stimulated Raman spectroscopy (SRS), and photoacoustic tomography (PAT), quantitative imaging methods enable precise measurement of anatomical structures, functional processes, and molecular interactions, providing invaluable information for early disease detection, accurate diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring of therapeutic interventions. Through objective and reproducible measures of disease progression and treatment response, quantitative imaging biomarkers bear a potential to improve clinical decision-making and optimize patient management strategies. Overall, the use and integration of quantitative imaging biomarkers is promising for enhancing clinical practice standards.

This Collection welcomes contributions describing novel biomarkers or novel imaging methodologies making use of them, as well as their clinical applications. 

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being.

Image credit: © enjoynz / Getty Images / iStock

  1. In the prognosis of breast cancer, the status of axillary lymph nodes (ALN) is critically important. While traditional axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) provides comprehensive information, it is associated...

    Authors: Shuyan He, Biao Deng, Jiaqi Chen, Jiamin Li, Xuefeng Wang, Guanxing Li, Siyu Long, Jian Wan and Yan Zhang
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:169
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Pituitary adenomas (PAs), craniopharyngiomas (CRs), Rathke’s cleft cysts (RCCs), and tuberculum sellar meningiomas (TSMs) are common sellar region lesions with similar imaging characteristics, making different...

    Authors: Hang Qu, Qiqi Ban, LiangXue Zhou, HaiHan Duan, Wei Wang and AiJun Peng
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:147
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. To evaluate the feasibility of radiomics analysis using dual-layer detector spectral CT (DLCT)-derived iodine maps for the preoperative prediction of the Ki-67 proliferation index (PI) in pancreatic ductal ade...

    Authors: Dan Zeng, Zuhua Song, Qian Liu, Jie Huang, Xinwei Wang and Zhuoyue Tang
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:124
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. We evaluated the feasibility of reducing contrast agent and radiation dose in pediatric computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) while ensuring image quality.

    Authors: Kaihua Yang, Jihang Sun, Yidi Zhao, Xin Yang, Lifang Sun, Ling Wu, Yue Liu and Shengli Shi
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:123
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. To assess the predictive value of combining DCE-MRI, DKI, IVIM parameters, and clinical characteristics for neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) efficacy in invasive ductal carcinoma.

    Authors: Xianglong Chen, Yong Luo, Zhiming Xie, Yun Wen, Fangsheng Mou and Wenbing Zeng
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:118
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. This study aimed to identify cerebral radiomic features related to migraine diagnosis and subtyping into migraine with aura (MwA) and migraine without aura (MwoA) and to develop predictive models based on thes...

    Authors: Tong-Xing Wang, Xiao-Bin Huang, Tong Fu, Yu-Jia Gao, Di Zhang, Lin-Dong Liu, Ya-Mei Zhang, Hai Lin, Jian-Min Yuan, Cun-Nan Mao and Xin-Ying Wu
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:110
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Determining isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation is crucial for glioma clinical management. MR diffusion-derived ‘vessel density’ (DDVD) offers non-invasive tissue perfusion evaluation within the tumor micr...

    Authors: Chen-Xi Ni, Ruo-Lan Lin, Dian-Qi Yao, Fu-Zhao Ma, Yu-Ting Shi, Ying-Ying He, Yang Song, Guang Yang, Ri-Feng Jiang and Yì Xiáng J. Wáng
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:79
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) based on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) performed well in diagnosing muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). However, certain cases may p...

    Authors: Peikun Liu, Lingkai Cai, Linjing Jiang, Haonan Chen, Qiang Cao, Kexin Bai, Rongjie Bai, Qikai Wu, Xiao Yang and Qiang Lu
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2025 25:60
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Identifying prognostic markers for clinical outcomes is crucial in selecting appropriate treatment options for patients with radioiodine-refractory (RAI-R) differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). The aim of th...

    Authors: Nguyen Thi Phuong, Mai Hong Son, Mai Huy Thong and Le Ngoc Ha
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2024 24:344
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between focal breast edema (FBE) and adjacent vessel sign (AVS) with tumor size, histologic grade, lymphovascular invasion, axillary lymph node st...

    Authors: Juanjuan Hu, Junli Ke, Shufeng Xu, Lei Pei, Lulu Cao, Huanhao Zhou and Xisong Zhu
    Citation: BMC Medical Imaging 2024 24:332
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Quantitative imaging and biomarkers" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.