Dr. drd. Felix Lucaci, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the first in Romania with AIS PennHIP certification

We are pleased to announce a new achievement in the Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging Service which also offers specific distractor analysis for the determination of joint laxity and osteoarthritis following hip dysplasia in dogs. The distractor was purchased with the Discipline’s own funds in December 2022 from Antech Imaging (USA), and in order for a doctor to be recognised and certified by Antech, they must undergo a training course and pass an examination. Thus, Dr. Felix Lucaci, PhD student and intern in our faculty is the first veterinarian in Romania, certified AIS PennHIP, to perform the joint laxity index measurement technique. The officialization of the result will be done by Antech Imaging Services.

The PennHIP AIS method is recommended as an osteoarthritis prediction method for all breeds of dogs, regardless of whether or not they are predisposed to canine coxofemoral dysplasia, so that appropriate action can be taken as necessary. This method will measure joint laxity, which is the distance between the femoral head and the acetabular cavity, using the PennHIP AIS distractor.
This medical procedure can be performed on dogs as young as 16 weeks of age under sedation, so there is no pain involved. The PennHIP AIS method can be used to determine at an early stage a dog’s risk of developing hip dysplasia or other hip changes, such as osteoarthritis, thus providing useful information for owners and especially breeders to decide whether or not the dog is suitable for breeding programmes.