<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD Journal Publishing DTD v2.0 20040830//EN" "journalpublishing.dtd"><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" dtd-version="2.0" xml:lang="en" article-type="reviewer-report"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">JMIRx Med</journal-id><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">xmed</journal-id><journal-id journal-id-type="index">34</journal-id><journal-title>JMIRx Med</journal-title><abbrev-journal-title>JMIRx Med</abbrev-journal-title><issn pub-type="epub">2563-6316</issn><publisher><publisher-name>JMIR Publications</publisher-name><publisher-loc>Toronto, Canada</publisher-loc></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">v6i1e77776</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2196/77776</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Peer-Review Report</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>Peer Review of &#x201C;Monte Carlo Dose Estimation of Absorbed Dose to the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Layer of the Bone Marrow Assuming Nonuniform Distribution Around the Vascular Endothelium of the Bone Marrow: Simulation and Analysis Study&#x201D;</article-title></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Gasmi</surname><given-names>Maha</given-names></name><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff id="aff1"><institution>Manouba University</institution><addr-line>Manouba</addr-line><country>Tunisia</country></aff><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="editor"><name name-style="western"><surname>Grover</surname><given-names>Abhinav</given-names></name></contrib></contrib-group><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2025</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>16</day><month>7</month><year>2025</year></pub-date><volume>6</volume><elocation-id>e77776</elocation-id><history><date date-type="received"><day>19</day><month>05</month><year>2025</year></date><date date-type="accepted"><day>19</day><month>05</month><year>2025</year></date></history><copyright-statement>&#x00A9; Maha Gasmi. Originally published in JMIRx Med (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://med.jmirx.org">https://med.jmirx.org</ext-link>), 16.7.2025. </copyright-statement><copyright-year>2025</copyright-year><license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><p>This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link>), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIRx Med, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://med.jmirx.org/">https://med.jmirx.org/</ext-link>, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.</p></license><self-uri xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="https://xmed.jmir.org/2025/1/e77776"/><related-article related-article-type="companion" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.1101/2024.10.19.24315800v1" xlink:title="Preprint (medRxiv)" xlink:type="simple">https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.19.24315800v1</related-article><related-article related-article-type="companion" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.2196/77812" xlink:title="Authors' Response to Peer-Review Reports" xlink:type="simple">https://med.jmirx.org/2025/1/e77812</related-article><related-article related-article-type="companion" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.2196/68029" xlink:title="Published Article" xlink:type="simple">https://med.jmirx.org/2025/1/e68029</related-article><kwd-group><kwd>stem cells</kwd><kwd>radiation</kwd><kwd>bone marrow</kwd><kwd>nuclides</kwd><kwd>noble gases</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front><body><p><italic>This is the peer-review report for &#x201C;Monte Carlo Dose Estimation of Absorbed Dose to the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Layer of the Bone Marrow Assuming Nonuniform Distribution Around the Vascular Endothelium of the Bone Marrow: Simulation and Analysis Study.&#x201D;</italic></p><sec id="s2"><title>Round 1 Review</title><sec id="s1-1"><title>Abstract Section</title><p>1. The manuscript&#x2019;s [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>] abstract begins with a statement about hematopoietic stem cells&#x2019; proximity to sinusoidal capillaries but does not clarify why this spatial distribution is relevant for radiation dosimetry until later in the text. A clearer explanation linking the hematopoietic stem cell location with the dosimetric model limitations would better engage readers unfamiliar with the topic.</p><p>2. Some sentences are overly complex, especially in the Introduction and Conclusion. Simplifying the language or splitting ideas across multiple sentences could improve readability.</p><p>3. The abstract lacks methodological detail regarding how the model calculations were performed. Including brief specifics about the model&#x2019;s approach, particularly the role of computed tomography imaging if applicable, would improve transparency and give context to the reported findings.</p><p>4. The results comparing the absorbed doses for &#x03B1; and &#x03B2; nuclides are presented with limited interpretation. The abstract states that doses for &#x03B2; nuclides were similar to International Commission on Radiological Protection estimates, while those for &#x03B1; nuclides were much lower, yet there is no explanation for the potential reasons behind these differences. Offering a brief discussion or hypothesis, even speculative, would enrich the reader&#x2019;s understanding.</p></sec><sec id="s1-2"><title>Introduction Section</title><p>5. The Introduction could benefit from a clearer structure. Currently, it presents information about various models and dosimetric approaches in a somewhat fragmented manner.</p><p>6. Certain technical terms such as &#x201C;surrogate target,&#x201D; &#x201C;trabecular bone surface,&#x201D; &#x201C;endosteum,&#x201D; and &#x201C;standard absorbed fraction&#x201D; may benefit from concise explanations or definitions. For instance, briefly defining &#x201C;surrogate target&#x201D; would help those unfamiliar with dosimetry or radiobiology terminology.</p></sec><sec id="s1-3"><title>Method Section</title><p>7. The study uses an intricate geometric model based on JM-103 data, Particle and Heavy Ion Transport System software, and Japan Atomic Energy Agency guidelines to simulate the cervical vertebrae trabecular bone. This choice is reasonable given the need for anatomical detail in dosimetry but may limit generalizability since the cervical vertebrae structure might not fully represent other bone marrow sites.</p><p>The description could benefit from clarifying why the JM-103 model was chosen over other models or datasets, particularly those that could include bone tissues beyond the cervical vertebrae.</p></sec><sec id="s1-4"><title>Discussion Section</title><p>8. Despite noting the need for micro&#x2013;computed tomgraphy&#x2013;based models, the authors do not discuss how current limitations might impact dose estimation accuracy, especially for complex geometries in the trabecular bone. A clearer explanation of how simplified geometric assumptions may influence absorbed dose calculations would provide a balanced view of the model&#x2019;s limitations.</p></sec></sec></body><back><fn-group><fn fn-type="conflict"><p>None declared.</p></fn></fn-group><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="ref1"><label>1</label><nlm-citation citation-type="journal"><person-group person-group-type="author"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kobayashi</surname><given-names>N</given-names> </name></person-group><article-title>Monte Carlo dose estimation of absorbed dose to the hematopoietic stem cell layer of the bone marrow assuming nonuniform distribution around the vascular endothelium of the bone marrow: simulation and analysis study</article-title><source>JMIRx Med</source><year>2025</year><volume>6</volume><fpage>e68029</fpage><pub-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2196/68029</pub-id></nlm-citation></ref></ref-list></back></article>