Orthopedic Foundation for Animals

Birkenstock & Reebok
(Reebok had hip dysplasia and could never be bred)

The following information was taken form the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) website. Please see <http://www.ofa.org/> for more specific and detailed information.

The OFA was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation by the state of Illinois on July 7, 1966. The original purpose of the organization was providing radiographic evaluation, database maintenance, and breeding advice to reduce the incidence of canine hip dysplasia. The current objectives of OFA are:

· To collate and disseminate information concerning orthopedic and genetic diseases of animals.

· To advise, encourage and establish control programs to lower the incidence of orthopedic and genetic diseases.

· To encourage and finance research in orthopedic and genetic disease in animals.

· To receive funds and make grants to carry out these objectives.

Over the past 10 to 15 years the OFA has recognized that a variety of heritable diseases impact animal health. As scientific advancements enhanced the ability to diagnose heritable diseases, the OFA has supported development of diagnostic criteria and databases for a number of genetic diseases in addition to hip dysplasia.

Radiographs of animals 24 months of age or older are independently evaluated by three randomly selected, board-certified veterinary radiologists from a pool of 20 to 25 consulting radiologists throughout the USA in private practice and academia. Each radiologist evaluates the animal's hip status considering the breed, sex, and age. There are approximately 9 different anatomic areas of the hip that are evaluated.

Seven classifications are needed in order to establish heritability information (indexes) for a given breed of dog. Definition of these phenotypic classifications are as follows: Excellent, Good, Fair, Borderline, Mild, Moderate, or Severe.

Accuracy of Data:

When results of 1.8 million radiographic evaluations by 45 radiologists were analyzed, it was found that all three radiologists agreed as to whether the dog should be classified as having a normal phenotype, borderline phenotype, or HD 94.9% of the time. In addition, 73.5% of the time, all three radiologists agreed on the same hip phenotype (excellent, fair, good, borderline, mild, moderate or severe). Twenty-one percent of the time, two radiologists agreed on the same hip grade and the third radiologist was within one hip grade of the other two. Two radiologists agreed on the same hip grade and the third radiologist was within two hip grades of the other two 5.4% of the time. This percentage of agreement is high considering the subjective nature of the evaluation.