Healthcare in low- and middle-income countries has become dependent on medical devices before the necessary workforce, physical infrastructure and policies are in place to support them.  Additionally, medical devices used in these settings are not optimized for this context, which contributes to poor outcomes.

To address these issues, important research and innovation is currently taking place in the Global South.  However, traditional barriers to publication result in only a fraction of this knowledge being shared. The Journal's primary aim is to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries by disseminating knowledge that can help reverse this situation.

The Journal will focus on advancing medical devices and biomedical engineering solutions specifically for low- and middle-income countries.

BEST-LMIC is seeking submissions addressing the following broad areas:

• Medical devices: Innovation of new products/medical devices that address unique challenges of LMICs; Testing/evaluation of existing products in LMIC settings, including suggestions for improvement.
• Biomedical engineering workforce: Studying the size and nature of the biomedical workforce and its adequacy. Identifying gaps in workforce skills and opportunities for improvement through curriculum development/reform. Development and validation of assessment tools to measure fit between training programs and workforce needs. New approaches to capacity building.
• Health systems strengthening: Identifying and closing gaps/mismatches between biomedical engineers and the clinical team to create a more resilient health system. Models for maintenance and repair contextualized for LMIC context, including approaches to health technology management.
• Artificial Intelligence: The application of AI in all areas of biomedical engineering, including medical devices, education and health systems strengthening.