How was PennHIP developed?
In 1983, Dr. Gail Smith from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine began to research and develop a scientific method for the early diagnosis of CHD. Multiple scientific disciplines – including biomechanics, orthopedics, clinical medicine, radiology, epidemiology and population genetics – have been incorporated during the development of PennHIP. This research resulted in a diagnostic method capable of estimating the susceptibility for CHD in dogs as young as sixteen weeks of age. In 1993, Dr. Smith established PennHIP, a cooperative scientific initiative, to serve as a multi-center clinical trial of the new hip dysplasia diagnostic technology. The program was successful and quickly grew beyond the capacity and purpose of a university research laboratory. Initially, the University of Pennsylvania licensed PennHIP to outside biotech companies in order to make the technology available for widespread public use and to allow Dr. Smith and his colleagues to continue the
