Mini Pakkal
Dr. Mini Pakkal has been an Assistant Professor in Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto since 2014. Prior to that she worked as a consultant cardiothoracic radiologist at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust, UK from 2007-2013.
She is actively involved in education and is passionate about sharing cardiothoracic knowledge with the international community. Her educational portfolio is strongly reflective of her commitment towards cardiothoracic imaging.
Dr. Pakkal is the Fellowship Program Director of the Medical Imaging Fellowship program at the University of Toronto, which is the largest fellowship program in Canada. She is the Director of Cardiac Education at the Joint Department of Medical Imaging, Director of the Advanced cardiac CT course at the Advanced Education and Imaging centre at the University of Toronto and co-director of the UK cardiac CT course and Lead for Transition to Residency selective and electives for the medical undergraduate program at the University of Toronto.
She is serving on various international educational committees including the Committee on International Radiology Education (CIRE) through the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and has served on the Continued Medical Education committee at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. She is the only invited speaker from Canada to serve in the Thoracic section of ACR Institute for Radiologic Pathology (AIRP) from 2019 to date.
Dr. Pakkal has received several awards for her teaching skills and was awarded the 2019 RSNA International Visiting Professorship in Thoracic Education to Thailand.
- Using Recurrent Neural Networks to Extract High-Quality Information From Lung Cancer Screening Computerized Tomography Reports for Inter-Radiologist Audit and Feedback Quality Improvement
CONCLUSION: We built an open-source Bi-LSTM NER model that outperformed other open-source or rule-based radiology NER models. This model can […]
- Diagnostic Value of Connective Tissue Disease Related CT Signs in Usual Interstitial Pneumonia Pattern of Interstitial Lung Disease
Purpose Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern of interstitial lung disease (ILD) can have varied etiology, with connective tissue disease (CTD) […]
- Clinical Impact of Cardiac MRI T1 and T2 Parametric Mapping in Patients with Suspected Cardiomyopathy
Background There are limited data on the incremental value of parametric mapping compared with core cardiac MRI protocols for suspected […]
- New cardiac manifestation of IgG4-related disease: a case report
(IgG4-RD) is a systemic fibro-inflammatory immune-mediated disease, which has been defined in the past few years. IgG4-RD affects various organs and […]
- Predefined and data driven CT densitometric features predict critical illness and hospital length of stay in COVID-19 patients
The aim of this study was to compare whole lung CT density histograms to predict critical illness outcome and hospital length of stay in a cohort of […]
- Editorial Comment: Deep Learning Algorithm Outperforms a Radiologist, or Does It?
No abstract
- AUR-RRA Review: Logistics of Academic-Industry Partnerships in Artificial Intelligence
The Radiology Research Alliance (RRA) of the Association of University Radiologists (AUR) convenes Task Forces to address current topics in […]
- The Evolving Status of Fellowships and Mini-Fellowships in Diagnostic Radiology: A Survey of Program Directors and Chief Residents
CONCLUSION: There is a division between chief residents and program directors regarding the preference for a common radiology match. Adopting a […]
- Effect of the 2017 European Guidelines on Reclassification of Severe Aortic Stenosis and Its Influence on Management Decisions for Initially Asymptomatic Aortic Stenosis
CONCLUSIONS: Reclassification of asymptomatic severe AS into moderate AS was common using the European Society of Cardiology 2017 guidelines. This […]
- Lessons Learned From the Effects of COVID-19 on the Training and Education Workflow of Radiology Residents-A Time for Reflection: Perspectives of Residency Program Directors and Residents in Canada
CONCLUSIONS: The coronavirus disease 2019 has dramatically changed radiology resident training in Canada, with increased virtual learning at the […]
- Diagnostic Performance of Abnormal Nulling on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Look Locker Inversion Time Sequence in Differentiating Cardiac Amyloidosis Types
CONCLUSIONS: An abnormal nulling pattern on the Look Locker TI sequence is highly specific for cardiac amyloidosis when present. However, abnormal […]
- Aligning the Implicit Curriculum with the Explicit Curriculum in Radiology
Physician education occurs through two mechanisms that operate in tandem: the explicit and the implicit curriculum. The explicit, or formal, […]
- Determinants of Exercise Capacity and Myocardial Perfusion Reserve in Asymptomatic Patients With Aortic Stenosis
No abstract
- Lung Density Analysis Using Quantitative Chest CT for Early Prediction of Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction
CONCLUSIONS: QDM derived from a CT histogram at the time of early drop in FEV1 may allow prediction of CLAD in patients after single or double LTx.
- CT-guided Microcoil Pulmonary Nodule Localization prior to Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery: Diagnostic Utility and Recurrence-Free Survival
Background CT-guided microcoil localization has been shown to reduce the need for thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) anatomic […]
- Diagnostic accuracy of post-mortem CT with targeted coronary angiography versus autopsy for coroner-requested post-mortem investigations: a prospective, masked, comparison study
BACKGROUND: England and Wales have one of the highest frequencies of autopsy in the world. Implementation of post-mortem CT (PMCT), enhanced with […]
- Prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease and prognosis in patients with stable symptoms and a zero-coronary calcium score
CONCLUSION: In patients with stable symptoms and a ZCS, obstructive CAD is rare, and prognosis over the long-term is excellent, regardless of whether […]
- Ischemia and Infarction in STEMI Patients With Multivessel Disease: Insights From the CvLPRIT Nuclear Substudy
No abstract
- Relationship between lung function and quantitative computed tomographic parameters of airway remodeling, air trapping, and emphysema in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A single-center study
CONCLUSIONS: In asthmatic patients and patients with COPD, lung function impairment is strongly associated with air trapping, with a contribution […]
- Postoperative imaging after lung transplantation
Lung transplantation (LT) is an established procedure for chronic end-stage lung diseases. Complications are frequent and diverse and are the […]
- MRI-safe pacemakers and reduction of cardiac MRI artefacts with right-sided implantation
No abstract
- Mimics of acute coronary syndrome on MDCT
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) encompasses a spectrum of unstable coronary artery disease ranging from transmural myocardial infarction to unstable […]
- Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging of non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is defined as a heterogeneous group of diseases of the myocardium associated with mechanical and/or electrical dysfunction due to a […]
- Formal, structured teaching in postgraduate training: a learner-centred educational programme
Medical education focuses on a learner-centred approach, but postgraduate training programmes have struggled to embrace this practice. In the West […]