Imaging Abstract Submission FAQs

Please refer to the 2026 Imaging Abstract Policies and Procedures for complete submission and policy details.

Submission

When is the abstract deadline?

The deadline is Friday, February 6, 2026 at 5pm U.S. EST. Only abstracts with a 'Submission' status by Friday, February 6, will be forwarded for review.

How do I access the abstract submission site?

Go to the Imaging in the Eye webpage and click the ' Submit Imaging abstract' button (link will be available from Jan. 5 - Feb. 6).

You do not need to be an ARVO member to submit an abstract, but you must create an ARVO Account.

Formatting and revisions

How is the maximum character count calculated?

• There is a maximum of 2,500 characters that include all characters and spaces in the abstract’s title, abstract body, and image captions (maximum of 2 images). Images, if included, are not included in the character count.
• Your total character count is indicated in the header bar of the abstract title/body page. The system will recalculate your submission’s total characters each time that page is saved.

Can I revise my abstract?

Yes, any abstract can be revised up until the deadline ( Feb. 6, 2026 at 5pm U.S. EST)

• To access your abstract, use the abstract submission link, along with your ARVO Membership account email and password.
• Select ' View Submissions' on the left sidebar of the submissions tab.
• From the bottom of the page, select ' edit draft' for an abstract in draft status.
• If your abstract is already in submission status, select ‘ edit/return to the draft’. After finalizing changes to your abstract, you must resubmit it from the bottom of the review & submit step before Friday, February 6, 2026 at 5pm EST.

Can I make any changes/additions to my abstract after the Feb. 6, 2026, deadline?

No changes, including adding, changing, or removing co-authors or any other edits, can be made to any abstract after the deadline.

Policies

Can an abstract submitted for the Imaging Conference also be submitted simultaneously to a journal for publication consideration?

Abstracts must be work that has not been submitted for formal publication or to a preprint server before the abstract submission deadline of February 6, 2026. After the abstract submission deadline, authors can submit their abstracts to a journal for consideration for publication.

Can an abstract submitted for the Imaging Conference also be submitted simultaneously to another conference for presentation?

ARVO encourages the presentation of new research at the Imaging Conference. Therefore, authors may submit the same abstract to another conference only if that conference takes place after the ARVO Imaging Conference (May 2, 2026).

What if I am unable to attend the Imaging Conference and present my abstract?

If you cannot attend and present your abstract on its scheduled presentation date, you must do one of these two things:

• Request that your abstract be withdrawn, OR
• Request a substitute presenter

Substitute presenters must be approved in advance and must be the co-authors of the abstract.

The First Author must make these requests through the relevant online form.

• Please review the Abstract Withdrawal and Substitute Presenter Policy for complete details of these procedures and to access the forms.

Does ARVO have the copyrights to my abstract because I presented it at the Imaging session?

No, as of Jan. 1, 2016, should the abstract be determined as copyrightable, all copyright ownership of the abstract shall be retained by the authors, subject to the rights granted to ARVO described in paragraphs 6 and 7 of the ARVO License to Publish.

• Please refer to the ARVO License to Publish for additional copyright information.
• Note: The authors hold the copyright for the Posters, Paper presentations, and abstracts.

Assistance

My name and/or email address needs to be updated in my abstract submission account. What should I do?

• You can make any necessary changes to your name and email address on the submission site by using the down arrow by your name at the top of any submission page.
• If you update your name or email address on the abstract submission site, you must also updateyour membership account. Send your membership account updates to arvo@arvo.org.
• Your name, email address in the abstract submission site, and ARVO membership account must match. Whenever you enter the abstract submission site, your name and email address from your membership account record overwrite your name and email in the abstract submission site.
• The proper capitalization of your name is essential (i.e., Isabel Queiroz, NOT Isabel q ueiroz). Google Scholar won’t display your name if there is no capitalization.

How can I be sure that my abstract has been submitted?

• When your abstract has been completed and successfully submitted, you will see “Success! Your submission was successfully submitted” in a green bar at the top of the View Submissions screen.
• You will also receive a system-generated email from ImagingConf@arvo.org to confirm that your submission has been received.
• On Monday, February 9, 2026, all First Authors with a submission status of abstract will be emailed to confirm that their abstract has been submitted and will be forwarded for review.
• At that time, read-only access to your abstract proof will be available as confirmation of your abstract as it will be submitted for review.
• Add s1help@silverchair.com and ImagingConf@arvo.org to your email address book or safe sender, allowing the list to facilitate delivery and avoiding firewalls and spam filters. Contact your email administrator if you are unsure how to add an email address to your safe sender list.

When will I know if my abstract has been accepted?

• Notifications of acceptance will be emailed to First Authors on Thursday, March 3, 2026.
• If your abstract is accepted, you must attend the Imaging session (part of All-Access Saturday) on Saturday, May 2, 2026. Changes to scheduled abstract presentation times and sessions cannot be made; there are no exceptions.
• Accepted abstract notifications with presentation details, including presentation type (paper or poster), presentation day/time(s), and the assigned session, will be emailed to First Authors on Friday, March 20, 2026.

When will the accepted and scheduled abstracts be available electronically?

The full text of all abstracts accepted for presentation and publication is expected to be available on ARVO’s Imaging online planner and mobile app in early April.

Why can’t I access the submission site?

If you are unable to access the submission site due to technical difficulties, please try one of the following before contacting ARVO:

• Check to make sure pop-up blockers are disabled.
• Clear browser cache/history and cookies.
• Open the abstract submission site using a different recommended browser; ARVO recommends using Google Chrome.
• Make sure you have the updated version of your compatible browser.

How can I get assistance with my Imaging abstract submission?

• Help is available via the ' Help' link in the upper right corner of each page of the abstract submission site.
• For technical support, email s1help@silverchair.com, Monday - Friday, 12am - 8:30pm (US-EST), or phone +1.434.964.4100 (toll-free U.S. only: 888.503.1050).
• For policy, procedure and other questions, contact ARVO at imagingconf@arvo.org or +1.240.221.2900.