Call for Papers - BUILDING SUSTAINABLE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS IN LOW-AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES

2026-08-12

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (BEST-LMIC) invites submissions for our upcoming Issue: Building Sustainable Medical Technology Ecosystems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), establishing long-term health technology access requires far more than single-device innovations or equipment donations. It demands a resilient, self-sustaining ecosystem that connects local manufacturing, transparent procurement, robust maintenance systems, and empowered technical workforces. When supply chains fracture or proprietary lockouts prevent servicing, clinical care drops and healthcare equipment graveyards expand.

We welcome contributions presenting empirical research, field-tested maintenance models, open hardware designs, and regulatory frameworks capable of breaking technological dependencies and building resilient healthcare infrastructure across LMICs.

Key Focus Areas:

Technology Design & Innovation

  • Design for repairability, modularity, serviceability, and maintainability
  • Open-source hardware, software, diagnostics, and interoperable technologies
  • Frugal, context-appropriate, and locally adaptable medical technology innovation

Manufacturing, Supply Chains & Market Systems

  • Local and regional manufacturing of equipment, components, and spare parts
  • Supply-chain resilience, availability of parts, and alternative sourcing
  • Circularity, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and sustainable technology markets

Health Technology Management & Service Delivery

  • Preventive and corrective maintenance, uptime, downtime, and lifecycle management
  • Clinical engineering systems, service workflows, and equipment performance
  • Digital tools for monitoring, maintenance, and technology management

Workforce & Institutional Capacity

  • Biomedical and clinical engineering education and training
  • Technician competency, professional development, retention, and career pathways
  • Institutional models for building sustainable local technical capacity

Procurement, Financing & Business Models

  • Sustainable procurement and total/lifecycle cost approaches
  • Financing, leasing, warranties, service contracts, and other acquisition models
  • Donor procurement, supplier relationships, and incentives for long-term sustainability

Policy, Regulation & Governance

  • Right to Repair, intellectual property, access to service information, and repair restrictions
  • Regulation, standards, safety, and quality assurance for repair, refurbishment, and local production
  • Health technology governance and policies that enable sustainable technology ecosystems

Submission Guidelines:

  • Call Window: August 10, 2026 –  October 30, 2026.
  • Publishing Model: Fully Open Access with Zero Article Processing Charges (APC).
  • Review Protocol: Strict double-blind peer review.
  • Submission Portal: Submit online via the Submissions Portal using our official Word templates.

For pre-submission topic alignment checks, email your abstract to editor@best-lmic.org