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JNM ranked in the top three per cent of all imaging journals based on its impact factor in 2007, according to results from the Thomson Reuters Institute for Scientific Information's (ISI) Journal Citation Report.

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM)—the flagship publication of SNM—has once again been recognized for its exceptional quality and influence as an academic and professional resource. In the latest ranking, just released for 2007, the journal ranked in the top three per cent of all imaging journals based on its impact factor, according to results from the Thomson Reuters Institute for Scientific Information's (ISI) Journal Citation Report.

JNM—a peer-reviewed, monthly publication—earned an impact factor of 5.915, representing an increase of more than 18 per cent from 2006 (4.986) and 26 per cent from 2005 (4.684), placing it second among all 87 journals in the 'radiology, nuclear medicine and medical imaging' category. JNM's rank was higher than those of other leading imaging journals, including Radiology, NeuroImage and the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, and below only one other journal, Human Brain Mapping.

The Thomson Reuters Institute measures a journal's impact based on the number of times its articles were cited in relation to the total number of articles it published. The impact factor is a quantitative measure of the frequency with which an article in a journal is cited and is used to gauge the overall influence of the journal within scientific and professional communities.

"This most recent ranking demonstrates the growing demand for high-quality, evidenced-based work," said Heinrich R. Schelbert, M.D., editor in chief of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. "Leading the way in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, The Journal of Nuclear Medicine has continued to attract a growing number of submissions from researchers at prestigious organizations throughout the United States and internationally," said Schelbert, who is professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California at Los Angeles and George V. Taplin professor at the university's David Geffen School of Medicine. "JNM's editorial board members work together to identify manuscripts worthy of publication, then work with accepted authors to publish clear and succinct papers that provide readers with the most essential research in the field," added Schelbert.

To further advance molecular imaging and therapy, articles published in JNM are now available online in advance of the print version—and free, open access to full-text online articles is now available six months after publication.

"As a leading multidisciplinary, international scientific and professional society, one of our primary goals is to promote access to critical and valuable information—information that helps shape the future of our field as we continually strive to provide patients with the best health care possible. The increase in the impact factor of the journal is proof that we are providing high-quality information on molecular imaging," said SNM President Robert W. Atcher, Ph.D., M.B.A., emerging medical technology team leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and UNM/LANL Professor of Pharmacy at the University of New Mexico.

JNM's 2007 impact factor represents its highest rating ever. The journal has consistently ranked in the top five per cent of all medical imaging journals. JNM has continued to gain prominence even as the number of journals considered significant in the field has increased.

The Journal Citation Report also publishes an immediacy index for journals as an indicator of the speed with which citations to a specific journal appear in published literature. JNM's immediacy index rose to 1.019—also a historic high for the journal. At the same time, the total number of JNM citations grew to 16,005 for 2007, representing a nearly ten per cent increase over 2006.

One of the most important uses of the impact factor is in the process of academic evaluation. The impact factor is often used as a measure of the quality and influence of the journals in which researchers have been published. Impact factors also provide librarians with a tool to help them effectively manage journal collections and make insightful purchasing decisions. The ISI has presented quantifiable statistical data to provide a systematic, objective way to evaluate the world's leading journals and their impact and influence in the global research community for more than 45 years.