Instructions for authors
1. Introduction
The Journal of ExtraCorporeal Technology (JECT) is the official journal of the American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology. JECT is freely available to all in open access on the publisher’s platform at: https://ject.edpsciences.org and is indexed in Medline through PubMed, PubMed Central (6-month delay), and the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). JECT contains original papers on topics pertaining to extracorporeal circulation and cardiovascular surgery. Case reports, techniques and applications, and review articles are also accepted for publication. Letters to the Editor and book reviews are encouraged. Statements and opinions are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of AmSECT, the Editors or the Publisher.
Any questions concerning these instructions should be directed to the Managing Editor.
Phone: 312-321-5156 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
2. General
2.1 Submission of a manuscript
JECT uses Editorial Manager® to manage the manuscript review process. All submissions to JECT must be done online through the Editorial Manager portal at https://www.editorialmanager.com/jectjournal/. New authors must register by following the instructions under the “Register” tab on the Journal website. Authors are also encouraged to review the Authors Tutorial on the website. This tutorial will help navigate the Editorial Manager process for submission of the manuscript online.
Submission of a manuscript implies that the work has not been published and is not submitted for publication anywhere else. Using the Similarity Check tool for all submitted articles, allows to detect even minimal plagiarism. Thus authors are invited to read the ethical standards and apply the given indications before submitting. Publication must be approved by all authors. Authors should accept publication fees.
Authors wishing to remove a submitted manuscript from consideration after it has been submitted must do so by sending a written request to the Journal Editor. In the event of a withdrawal, the manuscript will be destroyed to ensure confidentiality for the authors.
If a manuscript is accepted for publication, all authors must agree upon certain conditions. These conditions include statements regarding conflict of interest, scientific responsibility, and exclusive publication.
2.2 Authorship
Authors are invited to comply with the "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals", which were established and made available by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) at: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/, polices established by the Council of Science Editors (CSE), World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and others.
Submitted articles should contain purely original work, entirely written by the authors (AI-assisted writing should be declared. Please refer to our ethics and the JECT editorial Role of generative artificial intelligence in publishing. What is acceptable, what is not.
The ICMJE recommends that all those designated as authors meet all of the criteria they describe. The list of criteria is available at https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/. Those contributors who do not meet all of the criteria shall be acknowledged.
2.3 Conflict of interest
JECT requires authors to disclose any commercial associations that might pose a conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript by including a completed Conflict of Interest form with the submitted manuscript. It is the responsibility of the authors to fully disclose institutional or corporate affiliations that might constitute a conflict. Any association that results in financial exchange between the author(s) and a private corporation, or entity, must be disclosed. These include consultancies, employment (current or past), stock ownership, patent-licensing or similar relationships, and if commercial products are evaluated in the study.
Please download the JECT Conflict of Interest form at: www.editorialmanager.com/jectjournal/account/conflictofinterest.DOC.
You will need to print out the Conflict of Interest form and have ALL authors sign, scan, and then upload the forms to Editorial Manager with your manuscript files. For multi-institutional collaborators, separate forms can be signed and submitted. You must submit your completed Conflict of Interest form online with your manuscript in Editorial Manager (www.editorialmanager.com/jectjournal).
If no conflict of interests exists with any of the authors on the manuscript “NONE” is indicated on the Conflict of Interest form. If there is a conflict, only authors with a conflict need to sign the Conflict of Interest form. A submitted manuscript without a completed Conflict of Interest form will not be processed and returned to the author with an explanation.
All funding sources supporting the work are to be acknowledged at the end of the manuscript. If the editorial staff feels that a potential conflict of interest exists, it may be disclosed in written format. Authors will be apprised of such a decision in writing prior to publication.
2.4 Publication Ethics and protection of research participants
All laws and regulations should be strictly followed. If required, authors are requested to indicate ethical declarations issued by their institution and concerning their research, including permit numbers, in the Material and Methods section. Authors are requested to fully comply with the ICMJE recommendations in this respect, particularly with the patient's right to privacy, as well as the necessity to have the patient's written consent.
- Human investigation
Include the date of Institutional Review Board or human research committee approval, or the ethical guidelines that were followed by the investigators in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. - Humane animal care
The Materials and Methods section of the manuscript must contain a statement assuring that all animals used in the study received humane care in compliance with the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals," published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH Publication No. 85-23, revised 1985).
2.5 Reporting guidelines and clinical trial registration
For all studies based on clinical trials, depending on the study design, reporting guidelines such as CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, STARD should be followed. For more information about these guidelines authors should visit the websites of the EQUATOR network or the corresponding sources at the NLM website. The policy for clinical trial registration by the ICMJE is given in their recommendations. These should be followed by the authors in this journal.
2.6 Publication fees
From 1 January 2023, JECT is published by EDP Sciences as a fully open access journal, ensuring the highest possible accessibility to quality research in the field of ExtraCorporeal Technology. To support this move to open access, AmSECT will funds the cost of article processing charges (APCs) if the corresponding author is a current member of AmSECT. In other cases, Article Processing Charges are levied to support the cost of open access publication. Waivers and discounts may apply. For more information please refer to Article-processing charges.
2.7. Open access
All articles published by JECT from January 2023 are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription charges or registration barriers. Articles are available from the
2.8. ORCID
From October 2024, only authenticated ORCIDs will be published in this journal. Any ORCIDs included in the manuscript files or provided outside of the authentication process outlined below will not be included in the published article. Corresponding authors can link their own ORCID to their profile at the time of submission. They should also enter their co-authors details (names and email addresses) in the system at this time. Co-authors listed this way will be automatically invited to confirm that they are co-authors of the manuscript, and to validate their ORCID. This must be done before article acceptance. See also EDP Sciences ORCID policy www.edpsciences.org/en/publishing-policies-ethics#anchor_ORCID-policy.
3. Types of papers
JECT contains original articles on topics pertaining to extracorporeal circulation and cardiovascular surgery. Case reports, techniques and applications, and review articles are also accepted for publication. Letters to the Editor and book reviews are encouraged.Original Article
Original Article papers are those that represent original research in the field of cardiovascular medicine and/or perfusion. These may be either clinical or laboratory studies.
Case Reports
Case reports are clinical that report on several patients or fewer, and describe a unique aspect that may not have been previously reported. These are generally brief in length and should contain the following sections: Overview, Description, Comment, References (typically less than 20).
Techniques and Applications
Techniques or application papers are descriptions of developing technologies that may or may not have been applied in a laboratory or clinical setting. These are generally short papers and should contain the following sections: Overview, Description, Discussion, References (typically less than 20).
Review Articles
Review articles generally are written as exhaustive summations of the current knowledge in a subject area. These are generally long papers and contain the following sections: Introduction, Multiple Sections with Subheadings, Summary, References (no limit).
Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor abstracts should be short, unstructured single paragraphs, no longer than 150 words, emphasizing key findings in the article, and raising major points; 2) the abstract should not contain abbreviations or references; and 3) the total length of letters to the editor should be between 300 and 1,000 words and can include figures and tables. References (limit to less than 20).
Common Uses for the Letter to the Editor:
- Comment on or re-analyze work previously published in JECT or some other journal.
- Raising a topic of general interest either to the perfusion community or to the membership of our sponsoring society, AmSECT.
- Used for brief reports of research findings within our Journal’s scope and those that are of interest to the perfusion community. This third form may be most useful in this COVID era of fast-moving developments, as a way to disseminate limited data. It could also be used to introduce compelling innovative concepts or propose new studies and research directions as well.
Book Reviews
Book reviews are performed on a regular basis of recent publications that are seminal to the field of cardiovascular perfusion and/or cardiovascular surgery.
4. Presentation of manuscript
The manuscript must be submitted in Microsoft Word format.
The manuscript must be double-spaced (including the title page, abstract, text, references, tables and legends). Do not right justify the manuscript. This also applies to correspondence. The manuscript must not contain any author information.
Number the pages in footer (right justify) consecutively, beginning with the title page as page 1 and ending with the legend page.
JECT style complies with ISI Press Medical Style and Format, Edward J. Huth, ISI Press, 3301 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104.
4.1. Order of elements
Arrange the elements of the manuscript as follows:
- Two Title pages: i. With authors names, ii. Without authors names
- Abstract
- Text
- References
- Tables
- Figures
- Legends
4.2. Title page
Give the paper as short a title as possible.
Provide two title pages
- With author information: Include only the names of the authors directly affiliated with the work. Include the highest academic credential of each author. Include the name and location of facility where the work was completed.
- Without author information or affiliation. Since reviews are blinded, there cannot be any author information on this title page.
Include a list of four or five appropriate key words. Common Keywords:
www.editorialmanager.com/jectjournal/account/keyword.pdf
If the paper was presented at a meeting, provide the name, location, and dates of the meeting.
4.3. Abstract
The abstract should be no longer than 300 words, and should state concisely the objectives of the paper. Abstracts should contain subheadings as follows: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Abstracts for Case Reports and Techniques and Applications articles are typically 200 words. Abstracts must accompany every contribution, except for Letters to the Editor and book reviews.
4.4. Text
The text should be organized as follows: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, References.
Cite all references, figures, and tables in numerical order in the text. Citations should be on the line (non-superscript) and enclosed in parentheses. For example: The cited reference is at the end of the sentence (1).
Spell out abbreviations on first mention of each term, even if they are commonly used, and put the abbreviation in parentheses after the first usage. Use the abbreviation for subsequent mentions.
Example: Thromboelastograph (TEG).
Give all hematologic and clinical chemistry measurements in the International System of Units (SI). Refer to ISI Press Medical Style and Format, Edward J. Huth, ISI Press, 3301 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104. In general, measurements of length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units (i.e. meter, kilogram, liter) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be given in degrees Centigrade (°C). Blood pressures should be given in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
Identify all equipment and related materials by providing model number and device manufacturer, and include city, state and country of the company.
Example: Hemochron Response (International Technidyne, Nevsky, NJ, USA). Cite all materials on the line immediately following first listing.
Include acknowledgments, including complete grant or subsidy information, at the end of the text before the references.
Copyright laws require the obtainment of letters of permission from authors and/or publishers for the use of quotations and illustrations that originally appeared elsewhere. Similarly, written permission is required for the use of patients identifiable in photographs. It is not sufficient to cover the eyes of patients to mask identity. Papers will be returned to authors unless copies of necessary permission letters are included with the manuscript.
Statistical analysis should be included at the end of the Materials and Methods section. A description of the statistical tests should be included in paragraph form, clearly stating the types of tests performed. Data should be presented as Mean ± standard deviation and statistical significance accepted at a value equal to, or less than, 0.05. It is strongly recommended that a statistician review the methodology and be included as an author on the manuscript. If not, the statistician should be acknowledged at the end of the manuscript.
4.5. Figures and tables
All figures should be saved in JPG or TIF format, while tables can be in word processor format. There is no charge for electronic reproduction of color figures.
Use high quality resolution for all figures and tables. Handwritten lettering is not accepted.
One figure per page.
Using black and white for all fill quantities of bar graphs enhances publication quality. Do not use gray shading for filling figure boxes. Multiple shades of gray do not reproduce well and should be avoided. All charts (bar graphs and pie charts) should be in two dimensional perspective.
Figures and tables should be self-explanatory, and data should not be duplicated in the text or illustrations. If the figure or table provides redundant information, it will be deleted.
Tables should be typed double-spaced on separate sheets, each with a number (Arabic) and title above table. One table per sheet.
Explanatory notes and legends are to be included as a list on a Legends page (see below) immediately following the last table or figure. Provide a key to each figure or table identifying all abbreviations in alphabetical order. The key should be placed below any explanatory notes.
Authors must include written permission from the publisher to reproduce any previously published (print or digital media) figure(s), table(s), or legends.
Figures and tables may be reduced in size by the Publisher to suit space requirements.
4.6. Figure legends
Legends are the descriptions of figures, tables or other graphics. These should not be placed on the submitted figures, but should be typed double-spaced, and included on a separate sheet. Numbers should be Arabic and correspond to the order in which the illustrations occur in the text. Identify (in alphabetic order) all abbreviations appearing in the illustrations at the end of each legend. Example: CP - Centrifugal Pump; PP - Pneumatic Pump; RP - Roller Pump.
Example legends:
Table 1. Coagulation assessment during the first 10 days of life. AT III: Antithrombin III; FSP: Fibrin Split Products; Hct.: Hematocrit.
Table 2. Thromboelastographic assessment during AT-III concentrate infusion. K Time: Kinetic time denoting rate of clot growth; R Time: Reaction Time for initial clot development; Mas. Amp.: Maximum Amplitude.
Figure 1. Pre-AT-III concentrate infusion profile with an AT-III activity.
Figure 2. Platelet count and fibrinogen concentration during neo-natal ECMO. FIB: Fibrinogen concentration; PLT Ct.: Platelet Count.
4.7. Statements
From January 2023, it is mandatory to add the following statements at the end of your article, in the following order, before the References section.
For an example of how these sections appear in the published article, please see this article.
- Funding
Please include details on research grants received from funding agencies to complete the research presented. Please provide the research funder(s) and grant number(s).
If no funding received, please state: The authors received no funding to complete this research. - Conflict of Interest
Please disclose any material, financial, or other relationship that might pose a conflict of interest with the reported research. This should be disclosed via a Conflict of Interest form at the time of submission of your manuscript, and via a Conflict of Interest statement within the article. For more information, see section 2.3 Conflict of Interest.
If no conflict of interest, please state: The authors declare no conflict of interest. - Data Availability
Please include a section called Data Availability in your article to inform readers in a structured way about the availability of data or code relevant to the research published in your article. If the authors deposit Appendices or Supplementary Material in a public data repository, include the name of the repository and the link (DOI) here. For example: "The Informed Consent and Survey Tool used in this study is available in Zenodo, under the reference https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6805813." See also Data Policy. - Author contributions
Please specify which authors designed the study, collected the data, analyzed the results, wrote the paper, and any other contribution. For more information, see CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). - Ethics approval
Please include all ethical declarations relevant to the research conducted, in particular: informed consent, research with humans or animals, clinical trial registration, with the respective approval/registration numbers. For more information see sections 2.4 Publication Ethics and protection of research participants and 2.5 Reporting guidelines and clinical trial registration.
4.8. References
The Index Medicus format is used for references (see examples below).
Identify references in the text using Arabic numerals in parentheses on the line.
Do not cite personal communications, manuscripts in preparation, and other unpublished data in the reference list. Such information may be mentioned in the text in parentheses.
Type references double-spaced on beginning on a separate sheet. Continue numbering pagination with body of manuscript. Number the references consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text.
Journal references should provide inclusive page numbers; book references should cite specific page numbers.
Double-check references for accuracy, completeness, and duplication. It is the author’s responsibility to provide accurate and complete references.
Abbreviations of journals should conform to those used in Index Medicus. The style and punctuation of the references should follow the formats outlined below:
Journal article
Diehl JT, Eichorn EJ, Konstam MA, et al. Efficacy of retrograde coronary sinus cardioplegia in patients undergoing myocardial revascularization: A prospective randomized trial. Ann Thorac Surg. 2000;45:595-602. (List all authors if 6 or fewer; otherwise, list first 3 and add "et al").
Web references
AmSECT. Standards and Clinical Practice Guidelines. 2018. Available at: http://www.amsect.org/page/standards-and-guidelines-1117. Accessed April 17, 2020.
Wright BD. The Rasch Model for Test Construction and Person Measurement. 1978. Available at: https://www.rasch.org/rasch.htm. Accessed May 11, 2020.
In press references
Stevens RE, Millman RG, Johnson, AJ. Increase in interleukin-8 levels during hypothermic repair for giant cerebral aneurysms. J ExtraCorp Tech (in press). Do not cite unless a publisher has formerly accepted the manuscript.
Chapter in book
Smith P L. The neurological sequelae of cardiopulmonary bypass. In: Kay P, ed. Techniques in Extracorporeal Circulation. Oxford: Bitterworth-Heinemann; 1993; 18393.
Book
1. Guyton A, Rees TAL, Mahy BWJ. A Dictionary of Virology. Oxford: Blackwell; 1981: 230.
5. Processing of submitted manuscripts
Once a manuscript is received, it will be assigned a unique number. An email will be sent to the submitting author stating the receipt of the manuscript, and noting any deficient documentation. All communication concerning the manuscript is confidential between the submitting author and the Managing Editor or Editor. No communication with secondary authors, or outside individuals, will occur without written permission from the submitting author.
https://www.editorialmanager.com/jectjournal/.
6. Peer review
The review process takes place entirely electronically via the Editorial Manager portal of JECT. No paper submission will be considered. JECT applies a double-blind peer review process. Authors are responsible for anonymizing their manuscript.
Two or more reviewers will be assigned to evaluate all articles. Acceptance for publication is based on the articles’ significance to the perfusion community and its scientific validity. Editorial revisions may be required for clarity. Authors are encouraged to adhere to these guidelines and to proofread the manuscript to expedite processing.
The review process for the Letter to the Editor (LTE) is up to the discretion of the JECT Editor-in-Chief. This depends on the content of the Letter to the Editor and the extent to which any data is presented. LTEs that present as opinion letters, may not undergo the same review process.
7. Post acceptance
JECT offers a service of publication of the accepted manuscripts ahead of final publication.
Once the article is accepted for publication, the corresponding author will receive an invitation to connect to EDP Sciences’ production tracking system. The author will be asked to upload a PDF of their accepted manuscript, which will be posted on the JECT website as “accepted manuscript” and citable with a DOI within a few days of acceptance. Please ensure that your PDF file contains the article title, author names and affiliations.
The author should also upload the source files: electronic version of the manuscript in one of the following formats is required: for the text LaTeX/LaTeX2e, Word, RTF; for the figures EPS, TIF, JPG, PNG, in high resolution (≥300 dpi). Finally, they should sign the license agreement for open access publication of their article.
8. Language services
Text in the manuscript should be standard American English. Papers submitted by authors who do not have English as a first language pose a significant slowing of the review process and a higher rejection rate. Authors are encouraged to have their manuscripts reviewed by colleagues well versed in the English language. Failure to do so may result in excessive delays and possible rejection.
For authors whose primary language is not English consider having your manuscript reviewed by someone whose primary language is English. Such a review will greatly improve the processing and acceptance of your manuscript by conforming to correct scientific English and eliminating possible grammatical or spelling errors. JECT does not provide grammatical editing services and will return manuscripts that do not meet the minimum language requirements for additional editing prior to acceptance into the manuscript review process.
There are a number of services that provide editing of manuscripts for author's whose primary language is not English. See Language Editing Services page.
9. Long-term archiving
EDP Sciences has signed an agreement with Portico to provide a permanent archive of the e-content for many key journals. JECT has been added to this agreement in March 2023. Through this agreement, institutions participating in Portico’s E-Journal Preservation Service will be assured continued access to EDP Sciences content for generations of their scholars in the future. Current JECT data is sent to Portico as soon it is published.