We treat AI tools — large language models, image classifiers, literature-triage assistants — as instruments operated under human authority. They never function as authors, reviewers, or decision makers. Final responsibility for every published word rests with a named human editor.

Permitted uses

• Literature triage, citation discovery and reference formatting.
• Language polishing of accepted manuscripts (authors disclose).
• Plagiarism, image-integrity and statistical sanity checks during editorial screening.
• Pre-screening of submissions against scope and structural criteria.

Prohibited uses

• Generating original clinical conclusions, recommendations, or case interpretations.
• Acting as a peer reviewer or producing review reports.
• Fabricating data, figures, references, or patient cases.
• Replacing the editor-in-chief or associate editors in any acceptance decision.

Author disclosure

Authors must declare every AI tool used during manuscript preparation, including the model, vendor, version, and the scope of use. Where AI contributed to drafting, the disclosure block appears above the references in the published article.

Reviewer disclosure

Peer reviewers may not enter manuscript text or figures into any third-party AI tool. Confidentiality of submissions is absolute. Reviewers who use AI for grammar checks on their own review reports must disclose this to the handling editor.

Editorial oversight

The editor-in-chief retains decision authority for every submission. Two human readers review every published article. AI-generated text does not appear in editorials, decision letters, or correspondence without explicit attribution and human review.

Change log

This policy will be versioned and dated. The first published version applies from the launch of Volume 1, Issue 1.