Internacionalización de la producción científica de España en Radiología y Neuroimagen (1996-2003)

The situation of Research in radiology in Spain is analysed by examining the number of publications by Spanish authors in main stream international journals. The scientific production of Spanish researchers in journals included in the Science Citation Index (SCI) under the headings «Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Medical Imaging» and «Neuroimaging » during the years 1996-2003. During this period the scientific production in these fields comprised 1,562 documents (3.5% of the total production for Spanish clinical medicine); scientific production in these fields increased by 40% in this period in comparison to 24% for all clinical medicine. The bulk of the production was concentrated in the autonomous communities of Catalonia (35%), Madrid (28%), and Valencia (10%). The autonomous communities of Navarra and Cantabria had a high relative production after the results were adjusted for population. The healthcare sector is the most active, with the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, and the Hospital Vall d'Hebron being outstanding in that they not only lead the country in the number of publications but also publish more in journals with high impact factors. Among centers other than hospitals, the Center for Research in Energy, the Environment, and Technologies (CIEMAT) and the Medical School of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid are the most important. A high degree of collaboration is evident: 68% of the documents were produced by more than one institution, foreign centers were involved in 20%, and the documents were signed by an average of six authors. Conclusions In summary, the data show that Spanish radiological research is becomin increasingly international, although this process is still in the initial stage, with the percentage of documents published in the most prestigious journals for this specialty being lower than in other disciplines. The relative activity and production of Spain is slightly below the average of the European Union, but the country shows a rising trend for both production and impact.