Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing

Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing (MBEC) is an international peer-reviewed journal covering biomedical engineering, medical computing, and clinical instrumentation. Founded in 1963, it is the official journal of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) and published monthly by Springer Nature.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 8 Nov 2026

What is Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing?

Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing is a dedicated scholarly journal reporting original research, clinical evaluations, and methodological developments across biomedical engineering and medical computing. Operating under the disciplinary umbrella of biomedical engineering, the journal addresses the intersection of medical science, computational modeling, and physiological systems engineering.

Established in 1963, the publication serves as the official organ of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE). Published by Springer Science+Business Media (Springer Nature), MBEC issues 12 issues per year, presenting peer-reviewed contributions that span theoretical foundations, diagnostic technologies, and laboratory implementations relevant to the design controls medical device industry.

Journal impact factor and citation metrics

Evaluating research performance in biomedical engineering requires reviewing multiple bibliometric sources rather than relying on a single indicator. Citation dynamics reflect both immediate engineering applications and longer-term clinical translation.

The proprietary Journal Impact Factor is computed annually by Clarivate, while open bibliographic registries provide broad cumulative citation tracking:

Bibliometric Indicator	Recorded Value	Source and Observation Scope
Journal Impact Factor (2-Year)	3.1	Clarivate 2025 Journal Citation Reports release (stated by Springer Nature)
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.0	Clarivate 2025 Journal Citation Reports release
OpenAlex 2-Year Mean Citedness	4.17	OpenAlex calculation across 2-year observation windows
Journal h-index	152	OpenAlex cumulative publication citation index
Total Indexed Works	8,783	OpenAlex catalog record (ISSN 0140-0118)
Total Deposited DOIs	8,725	Crossref registry archive (current: 680, backfile: 8,045)
Cumulative Citations Received	207,089	OpenAlex lifetime citation graph
First Decision Speed (Median)	6 days	Springer Nature journal review timeline benchmark

For researchers evaluating different journal ranking frameworks, see CiteScore vs impact factor for methodological differences between Scopus and Web of Science citation metrics, or consult how the journal impact factor is calculated.

Editorial scope and society governance

MBEC maintains a defined scope governed by editorial leadership and IFMBE professional society standards:

Thematic coverage: Major subject tracks include biomedical signal processing, physiological systems modeling, medical imaging analysis, biomechanics, clinical engineering, and neural engineering.
Affiliated society: The journal is affiliated with the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), founded in 1963, providing a direct link to national biomedical engineering societies worldwide.
Publishing structure: Production and distribution are handled by Springer Nature across 12 monthly issues per volume year, supporting both standard subscription access and hybrid open-access publishing models.
Review workflow: Manuscripts undergo initial editorial triage with a median first decision speed of 6 days, followed by peer review focusing on methodological soundness and biomedical relevance.

Responsible use of biomedical engineering metrics

When assessing publications in Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, tenure committees, grant evaluators, and department heads must apply responsible evaluation principles:

Avoid surrogate quality assumptions: A journal-level ratio of 3.1 reflects the citation density of the entire periodical over a two-year span; it does not measure the individual scientific rigor, reproducible design, or clinical validity of any single article.
Respect disciplinary citation speeds: Medical hardware developments, algorithm clinical trials, and regulatory validations often require multiple years to gain widespread adoption, meaning short 2-year citation windows capture only immediate technical uptake.
Commit to assessment frameworks: Under the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA vs CoARA), evaluators should judge candidate contributions on content, open data, and direct scientific merit rather than journal branding.

Sources

Springer Nature, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing Journal Metrics and Scope, https://link.springer.com/journal/11517, November 2026.
OpenAlex, Source Record: Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing (s167440461), https://api.openalex.org/sources?search=Medical%20%26%20Biological%20Engineering%20%26%20Computing, November 2026.
Crossref, Journal Record 0140-0118, https://api.crossref.org/journals/0140-0118, November 2026.

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