Top 20 Radiology Journals of 2022

Whether you are trying to decide where to publish your research findings, searching for a thought-provoking publication to share at journal club, or simply interested in exploring the latest literature, this article is likely to help you to achieve your aims. We have outlined the rankings of the best journals from the fields of Radiology and Medical Imaging according to impact factor, Google’s h5-index, and the scoring system of the research group SCImago.

Note that this article focuses on the “general” rankings of scientific journals related to Radiology and Medical Imaging. If you would prefer to consider the rankings of journals dedicated to particular sub-topics within these fields, such as interventional radiology or neuroradiology, then this article may not satisfy your needs.

If the accessibility of a journal is of importance to you, keep in mind that the journals we have listed may not have open access status.

Historically, quantitative metrics such as impact factor have provided an objective method for comparing the relative influence and prestige of competing journals. However, the quality of a journal should be assessed holistically and not be based on metrics alone.

In addition to considering the data in this article, we encourage you to visit the website of each journal where you can learn about its purpose and scope, editorial board and practices, and detailed metrics beyond impact factor, which will better inform your search.

Google ranks scientific journals using the h5-index, an index that considers publications in the journal over the past 5 years and that is intended to take into account both the number and quality of publications.

Google’s h5-index value is calculated to maximize both the number of published papers and the number of citations. According to wikipedia, the “h-index is defined as the maximum value of h such that the given author/journal has published h papers that have each been cited at least h times.”

SCImago, a data science and visualization research group from Spain, has also ranked the top journals in Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Imaging. Their most recent release is for the year 2021.

The SCImago Journal Ranking (SJR) considers not only the number of citations but also the relative prestige of the citation sources, with greater rank enhancement provided by citations from high prestige journals. The SJR is normalized to 1 with an SJR greater than 1 indicating “above average” citation potential.

Data regarding the impact factor of each journal represents the current two-year impact factor as identified by the Journal Citation Reports. Check out our article on the history, definition, and implications of impact factor for more information on the metric.

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Top 20 Radiology Journals Ranked by Google (2022)

1. Radiology – h5-index: 114
2. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging – h5-index: 106
3. JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging – h5-index: 78
4. European Radiology – h5-index: 76
5. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine – h5-index: 72
6. Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (Medical Image Analysis) – h5-index: 69
7. Medical Physics – h5-index: 68
8. Physics in Medicine and Biology – h5-index: 63
9. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging – h5-index: 62
10. European Heart Journal: Cardiovascular Imaging – h5-index: 60
11. Endoscopy – h5-index: 58
12. American Journal of Roentgenology– h5-index: 58
13. American Journal of Neuroradiology – h5-index: 58
14. RadioGraphics – h5-index: 57
15. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging – h5-index: 56
16. European Journal of Radiology – h5-index: 52
17. IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging: From Nano to Macro – h5-index: 50
18. Journal of the American College of Radiology – h5-index: 48
19. Investigative Radiology – h5-index: 48
20. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography – h5-index: 46

Top 20 Radiology Journals Ranked by SCImago (2021)

1. JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging – Journal Ranking: 5.914
2. Radiology: Artificial Intelligence – Journal Ranking: 4.729
3. Radiology – Journal Ranking: 4.594
4. Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology – Journal Ranking: 4.443
5. Medical Image Analysis – Journal Ranking: 4.172
6. Cancer Treatment Reviews – Journal Ranking: 3.214
7. Investigative Radiology – Journal Ranking: 2.952
8. European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging – Journal Ranking: 2.863
9. npj Breast Cancer – Journal Ranking: 2.863
10. Photoacoustics – Journal Ranking: 2.308
11. European urology oncology – Journal Ranking: 2.299
12. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging – Journal Ranking: 2.298
13. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography – Journal Ranking: 2.278
14. Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance – Journal Ranking: 2.203
15. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy – Journal Ranking: 2.162
16. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging – Journal Ranking: 2.157
17. Journal of Nuclear Medicine – Journal Ranking: 2.113
18. Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging – Journal Ranking: 2.071
19. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging – Journal Ranking: 2.003
20. Radiotherapy and Oncology – Journal Ranking: 1.946

Top 50 Radiology Journals Ranked by Impact Factor (2022)

1. JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging – Impact Factor: 14.805
2. Radiology – Impact Factor: 11.105
3. Journal of Nuclear Medicine – Impact Factor: 10.057
4. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging – Impact Factor: 10.048
5. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging – Impact Factor: 9.236
6. Medical Image Analysis – Impact Factor: 8.545
7. Photoacoustics – Impact Factor: 8.484
8. Clinical Nuclear Medicine – Impact Factor: 7.794
9. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging – Impact Factor: 7.792
10. Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology – Impact Factor: 7.299
11. International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics – Impact Factor: 7.038
12. European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging – Impact Factor: 6.875
13. Neuroimage – Impact Factor: 6.556
14. Ultraschall in der Medizin – Impact Factor: 6.548
15. Radiotherapy and Oncology – Impact Factor: 6.280
16. Investigative Radiology – Impact Factor: 6.016
17. Journal of Nuclear Cardiology – Impact Factor: 5.952
18. Seminars in Radiation Oncology – Impact Factor: 5.934
19. Journal of the American College of Radiology – Impact Factor: 5.532
20. Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance – Impact Factor: 5.364
21. Radiographics – Impact Factor: 5.333
22. European Radiology – Impact Factor: 5.315
23. Insights into Imaging – Impact Factor: 5.231
24. Human Brain Mapping – Impact Factor: 5.038
25. Zeitschrift fur Medizinische Physik – Impact Factor: 4.820
26. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging – Impact Factor: 4.813
27. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics – Impact Factor: 4.790
28. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.668
29. Molecular Imaging – Impact Factor: 4.488
30. Seminars in Nuclear Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.446
31. Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography – Impact Factor: 4.309
32. Medical Physics – Impact Factor: 4.071
33. Journal of Digital Imaging – Impact Factor: 4.056
34. NMR in Biomedicine – Impact Factor: 4.044
35. Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging – Impact Factor: 4.026
36. American Journal of Roentgenology – Impact Factor: 3.959
37. International Journal of Hyperthermia – Impact Factor: 3.914
38. Cancer Imaging – Impact Factor: 3.909
39. Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery – Impact Factor: 3.837
40. American Journal of Neuroradiology – Impact Factor: 3.825
41. Biomedical Optics Express – Impact Factor: 3.732
42. Ultrasonography – Impact Factor: 3.675
43. Clinical Neuroradiology – Impact Factor: 3.649
44. Strahlentherapie und Onkologie – Impact Factor: 3.621
45. Physics in Medicine and Biology – Impact Factor: 3.609
46. Practical Radiation Oncology – Impact Factor: 3.539
47. European Journal of Radiology – Impact Factor: 3.528
48. Korean Journal of Radiology – Impact Factor: 3.500
49. Molecular Imaging and Biology – Impact Factor: 3.488
50. Radiation Oncology – Impact Factor: 3.481

Interested in learning about the rankings of journals from other fields? Consider checking out our other journal rankings.

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