Personalized health – the use of individualized measurements to address each patient’s specific needs – is a research field that’s evolving at pace. Bringing this level of personalization into the clinic is an interdisciplinary challenge, requiring the development of sensors that generate clinically meaningful data outside the hospital, new imaging modalities and analysis techniques, and computational tools that address the uncertainties of dealing with just one individual.

Much of the most impactful work in this field sits in the spaces between established disciplines. And for researchers looking to publish their findings or read about the latest breakthroughs, this work is often scattered across discipline-specific journals. A new open access journal from IOP Publishing – Medical Sensors & Imaging (MSI) – aims to remedy this shortfall, providing a dedicated home for authors working across sensing, imaging, modelling and data-driven healthcare.

“We want a journal where physicists, engineers, computer scientists, biomedical researchers and clinicians can publish and read work that advances personalized health, without confinement into traditional silos,” explains founding editor-in-chief Marco Palombo from Cardiff University. “MSI also aims to play an important role in strengthening interdisciplinary exchange.”

“The community needs a specialized forum that doesn’t just report on new materials or a clinical trial, but validates innovations that can specifically solve complex biomedical challenges,” adds deputy editor Xiliang Luo from Qingdao University of Science and Technology. “I think this journal is a perfect fit for that gap.”

Connecting communities

Published by IOP Publishing on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), MSI aims to dismantle the barriers between engineering innovation and clinical application by creating a community of experts that work together to translate innovative technology into clinical settings.

MSI sits within IPEM’s journal portfolio that includes Physics in Medicine & Biology, Physiological Measurement and Medical Engineering & Physics. Its aims and scope were designed to complement, rather than overlap with, these existing journals and provide a dedicated venue for translational work and practical applied research that may otherwise struggle to fit a traditional scope.

Being part of this established family of journals brings with it strong editorial standards, an established readership base and a commitment to scientific integrity. The journal also offers rapid, high-quality peer review, with feedback that’s constructive, rigorous and fair. MSI is fully open access, which maximizes the visibility, reach and impact of its published papers.

“For a new journal in a dynamic field, ensuring content is discoverable and barrier-free is essential for building an audience quickly and establishing credibility,” says Palombo. “We also wanted MSI to support global participation. Many excellent groups operate with limited budgets but make major scientific contributions. Open access reduces inequities in who can read and build on published work.”

“For the authors, we can provide a specialized platform for scientists whose work transcends traditional boundaries, offering visibility to a broad audience that’s eager for translational solutions,” says Luo. “And for the readers, I think we will be the go-to resource for academic researchers, industry R&D leaders, and healthcare innovators seeking the latest breakthroughs in personalized health monitoring and advanced diagnostics.”

Hot topics

Palombo contributed to the strategic development of the journal at an early stage, drawing upon his experience in healthcare and medical imaging research and engaging with the research community to identify the scientific niche that MSI could fill. Working with IOP Publishing, he helped shape the journal’s aims and scope and assembled a diverse, internationally recognized editorial board with knowledge aligned with the journal’s mission – including Lui, who brings specialist expertise in wearable technologies and biosensors.

The journal will publish high-quality research on novel biomedical sensing and imaging techniques, along with the algorithms, validation frameworks and translational studies that demonstrate their application in real-world medicine. MSI also provides a platform to showcase research on hot topics such as wearable and implantable sensors for continuous physiological monitoring, for example, or microneedle-based sensing technologies and breath analysis.

The development of flexible and biocompatible materials will be key for the growth of bio-integrated devices and biodegradable or transient electronics, as will anti-fouling strategies that enable use of sensors in complex biological environments. On the imaging side, the journal scope encompasses mainstay medical imaging techniques such as MRI, CT, ultrasound, PET and SPECT, as well as emerging multimodal and hybrid approaches, with a focus on technical innovation and translational relevance.

“Given my own background, I’m particularly keen to see strong submissions in the area of MRI, including advanced quantitative biomarkers and approaches that probe tissue microstructure,” notes Palombo. “I also see huge potential in connecting imaging to computational modelling – particularly digital twins – and in building imaging pipelines that enable personalized diagnosis and prognosis.”

“Other exciting areas include combining sensing and imaging technologies into one system, and closed-loop ‘sense then act’ systems, which sense something and can then release medicine to treat the disease,” says Luo.

The rise of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly central to both sensing and imaging, and will likely play a major role in the evolution of personalized health, enabling a shift towards multimodal fusion of sensor streams, imaging and clinical data. AI could also facilitate the introduction of integrated sensor systems that collect data and interpret signals in real time, and digital twins that link patient-specific data with computational models to simulate disease progression or treatment response.

Palombo emphasizes the importance of trustworthy AI: methods that don’t just provide an output, but are explainable, robust and explicitly handle uncertainty. This is a direction seen in the general field of AI, but is especially important within healthcare. He also cites the increasing momentum around green healthcare and green AI, with personalized health technologies designed to reduce waste and minimize energy consumption, and clinical models developed with far greater computational efficiency.

“It would be fantastic to have an AI model running directly on the sensor, for example, and this ties in with the environmental impact of AI,” he explains. “If we keep AI small and manageable, then it pollutes less, is more affordable for everybody and can be deployed on small, lightweight devices.”

A community focal point

Looking ahead, Palombo hopes that MSI will becomes a leading platform for interdisciplinary innovation in personalized health, and the routine home for publishing major advances in sensing, imaging, modelling and trustworthy AI. “Over time, I’d like the journal to build depth in core areas, while also actively shaping emerging directions such as digital twins, uncertainty-aware and explainable AI, multimodal integration and technologies that are genuinely deployable in clinical workflows.”

“Currently, the fields of sensor engineering and clinical medicine often run on parallel tracks. My hope is that this journal will force these tracks to converge over time,” adds Luo. “I see the journal fostering a new language where chemists, physicists, engineers and doctors can understand each other by publishing papers in MSI.”

• Medical Sensors & Imaging is fully open for submissions, with the first issue expected to publish in Q2/Q3 of this year. During the launch phase, IOPP is covering the article processing charge (APC) for all accepted papers, enabling early contributors to publish at no cost while helping the journal establish a strong foundation of high-quality inaugural content. Beyond this period, many authors will benefit from support through IOPP’s transformative agreements, while others may be eligible for APC waivers and discounts.

The post New journal aims to advance the interdisciplinary field of personalized health appeared first on Physics World.