About RöFo

RöFo

RöFo — Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der Röntgenstrahlen und der bildgebenden Verfahren — is the oldest German specialist journal for medical radiology, published monthly by the Georg Thieme Verlag in Stuttgart with the ISSN 0340-1618. Founded in 1897 by Heinrich Albers-Schönberg and Georg Deycke under the title "Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen", the journal has accompanied the development of X-ray imaging from Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen's discovery to the modern era of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and photon-counting detectors. The journal publishes original papers and review articles in a peer-reviewed process and serves as the official organ of the German and — since 1976 — the Austrian Röntgengesellschaften. Each year a special volume is published for the Deutscher Röntgenkongress. The journal's impact factor, documented at 1.7, reflects its standing in the international radiology literature, with the journal's articles cited in the scientific discourse of medical imaging.

Overview

RöFo addresses the specialists of medical radiology: radiologists in hospitals and private practice, medical physicists, radiographers, and the scientists and engineers of imaging technology. The Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft, with around 12,000 members, forms the core of the journal's readership, alongside the Austrian radiological societies and the international subscribers of the Thieme journals. The journal's editorial programme is that of a scientific medical journal, publishing original research, review articles and case reports on medical imaging and the related fields of radiology and other modalities. The journal's peer-review process ensures the scientific quality of its contributions, with the journal serving as one of the most respected scientific publications in the field of radiology.

The journal's content covers the full spectrum of diagnostic and interventional radiology: X-ray imaging, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and the emerging modalities such as photon-counting CT. The journal's review articles provide systematic overviews of clinical topics, from bone tumour reporting systems to the structural data of trauma radiology. The journal's case reports document instructive clinical cases. The annual special volume for the Deutscher Röntgenkongress, the congress of the Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft held each year at Ascension Day, publishes the congress's scientific programme. The journal's digital edition is available through Thieme Connect, the publisher's e-journal platform.

History

RöFo was founded in 1897 under the name "Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen" by Heinrich Albers-Schönberg and Georg Deycke, only two years after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895. In the early years subscribers received, alongside the journal itself, separate picture volumes and supplements at irregular intervals, as well as special volumes for conferences and the protocols of the Röntgengesellschaft. The journal's history mirrors the institutional history of German radiology: Albers-Schönberg was also the initiator of the Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft, founded in 1905, which has published the journal since 1926.

The journal's title evolved with the field: in 1949 it was unified and renamed "Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen vereinigt mit Röntgenpraxis", in 1956 "Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen und der Nuklearmedizin", and in 1975 it received its current designation. The journal was published by Gräfe & Sillem in Hamburg, and from volume 34 (1926) by Thieme — in Leipzig, and since 1971 in Stuttgart. The move of the Thieme publishing house from Leipzig to Stuttgart in the post-war period placed the journal at the centre of the West German medical publishing landscape. Since 1976 the journal has also served as the organ of the Austrian Röntgengesellschaften. The journal's digital archive extends back to 1949, with the early volumes being successively digitised and made accessible to researchers. The journal's complete publication history — from the first issues of 1897 to the current monthly editions — documents the entire development of medical X-ray imaging. Few scientific journals can claim such a continuous record of their discipline's progress, from Röntgen's discovery to the photon-counting detectors of the present. The journal's impact factor is documented at 1.7, with around 5,040 printed copies monthly. The journal's long publication history — more than 125 years — makes it a unique witness to the development of medical imaging.

Content and Sections

The editorial content of RöFo is organised around the scientific disciplines of radiology. Original papers present new research in diagnostic and interventional radiology, from technical developments in detector technology to clinical studies on imaging protocols. Review articles provide systematic overviews of clinical and technical topics, such as the reporting systems for bone tumours or the structural and process data of trauma radiology. Case reports document instructive individual cases with imaging findings and clinical discussion.

The journal's special volumes serve specific functions: the annual special volume for the Deutscher Röntgenkongress publishes the congress's abstracts and programme, while thematic issues focus on key areas of the field. The journal's historical contributions, such as the overview of 125 years of X-ray imaging from discovery to photon-counting detectors, connect the journal's tradition with the field's current developments. The journal's review of the development from the fluorescent screen to the digital X-ray detector documents the technological lineage that the journal has accompanied since 1897. The journal's special issues on the German Röntgenkongress provide the scientific record of the profession's annual gathering. The journal's content is published in German and English, with the digital edition on Thieme Connect providing full-text access to subscribers. The journal's peer-review process, with international reviewers, ensures the scientific standard of its publications. The journal's citation identity — "Fortschr Röntgenstr" — is established in the medical literature, with the journal's articles referenced in the international radiology discourse.

Publisher and Organization

RöFo is published by the Georg Thieme Verlag KG, based in Stuttgart. The journal appears monthly with the ISSN 0340-1618. The journal is the official organ of the Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft e.V. (DRG), the medical-scientific specialist society of German radiologists founded in 1905 and based in Berlin, and of the Austrian Röntgengesellschaften since 1976. The DRG, with around 12,000 members, organises the annual Deutscher Röntgenkongress and awards scientific prizes including the Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen-Preis. The journal's digital edition is published on Thieme Connect, the publisher's platform for electronic journals, with full-text articles available to subscribers and selected open-access content. The journal's annual subscription price reflects its position as a specialist scientific journal. The Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft's e-paper documents the journal's role in the society's communication, with the society's publications complementing the journal's scientific content. The society's description of the journal as one of the most respected scientific publications in radiology, providing peer-reviewed insights and original research, summarises the journal's standing in the field. The journal's monthly publication rhythm ensures the continuous dissemination of new research to the radiology community, with the digital platform providing immediate access to the latest findings.

Digital Presence

The digital home of the journal is Thieme Connect, the Georg Thieme Verlag's platform for electronic journals, where RöFo's full-text articles are published with abstracts, key points and citation formats. The platform provides the journal's current issues and the digital archive extending back to 1949, with the early volumes being successively digitised. The journal's articles are indexed in the scientific databases, with the citation format "Fortschr Röntgenstr" documenting the journal's bibliographic identity. The Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft's digital platforms complement the journal, with the society's e-paper documenting the journal's role as one of the most respected scientific publications in radiology. The journal's digital edition serves the international radiology community alongside the print edition's German-speaking readership.