MR EDU: About Dr. Kanal

Emanuel Kanal, MD, FACR, FISMRM, AANG
Professor of Radiology and Neuroradiology
Director of Magnetic Resonance (MR) Services

Dr. Kanal graduated cum laude from Yeshiva University in New York with a double major in Pre Medicine and Biology and a minor in Physics. He then graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine with membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Medicine Honors Society, completed his internship in Internal Medicine and residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kanal completed his first fellowship in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and a second Fellowship in Neuroradiology at The Pittsburgh NMR Institute and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He was the Medical Director of the Pittsburgh NMR Institute until its incorporation into the UPMC Health System when he became Director of MR Services in the Department of Radiology of the UPMC Health System, a position he maintains to date.

Dr. Kanal is a Founding Member, Board Member, Officer, and/or Member of numerous national and international professional societies, and serves as a consultant to the FDA on MR safety issues. He has chaired and/or served on MR safety committees for more than 30 years, was chair of the first national and international MR safety committee, and served as chair of the American College of Radiology’s Blue Ribbon Panel on MRI Safety. He is the lead author of the ACR’s White Paper on MR Safety and its contained MR Safe Practice Guidelines and their numerous updates. Kanal also created and founded the first MR safety Web site in 1995 and is coauthor of the first MR safety textbook. Most recently, Kanal is the founding member and Chairman of the American Board of Magnetic Resonance Safety, the first organization formed exclusively to certify and credential, by means of formal written examinations, Magnetic Resonance Medical Directors/Physicians (MRMD), Magnetic Resonance Safety Officers (MRSO), and Magnetic Resonance Safety Experts (MRSE), the individuals charged with ensuring safety in magnetic resonance environments.

In 1991, Dr. Kanal was the first to have developed and presented the usage of timed bolus contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography in humans. He has published numerous original peer reviewed articles, reviews monographs, abstracts, books and book chapters and lectures extensively on clinical MR and MR safety-related topics. He is also the author of one of the most comprehensive clinical Magnetic Resonance Tutor/Simulator software ever created, which he uses extensively in his courses and lectures.

Dr. Kanal has taught literally thousands the concepts underlying MR imaging physics and their clinical application. His teaching style is informal, interactive, humorous, enthusiastic, energetic, and most unique. Among the unique aspects of this course is that it takes full advantage of the graphic, interactive format of his custom-developed MR tutorial and simulator software programs, which permit real-time simulation of the effects of MR image parameter manipulation on the scanned images.

Dr Kanal is recognized as one of the most sought-after MR educators in the world today; is the first to have developed, applied, and presented dynamic bolus contrast enhanced MR angiography; and is the pre-eminent physician authority on MR safety issues. He has chaired and/or served on MR safety committees for more than 30 years, was chair of the first national and international MR safety committee, and served as chair of the American College of Radiology’s Blue Ribbon Panel on MRI Safety. He is the lead author of the ACR’s White Paper on MR Safety and its contained MR Safe Practice Guidelines and their numerous updates. Kanal also created and founded the first MR safety Web site in 1995 and is coauthor of the first MR safety textbook. Most recently, Kanal is the founding member and Chairman of the American Board of Magnetic Resonance Safety, the first organization formed exclusively to certify and credential, by means of formal written examinations, Magnetic Resonance Medical Directors/Physicians (MRMD), Magnetic Resonance Safety Officers (MRSO), and Magnetic Resonance Safety Experts (MRSE), the individuals charged with ensuring safety in magnetic resonance environments. He is also listed in the 2005, 2010 and 2011 Pittsburgh Magazine as being one of the “Top Doc’s” of the Pittsburgh region’s best medical professionals.


Contact Information
Dr. Emanuel Kanal
Professor & Director of MR Education
(412) 647-7288
ekanal@pitt.edu
203 Lothrop St, Department of Radiology, EEI Suite 700, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2582