Certified hip sonographers are qualified to carry out ultrasound examinations of the hips of newborn babies. Here, it is a prerequisite to have knowledge and an understanding of anatomy and the possible disease patterns of these little patients' hip joints.
These special ultrasound scans are now carried out routinely, to the extent that they largely replaced X-rays many years ago. Hip sonography is used for the early detection of suspected hip dysplasia (deformity of the hip) and dislocated hips. If treated early, a complete cure is highly likely. Hip dysplasia arises when there is a malformation of the acetabulum and altered ossification of the acetabular roof due to either a congenital disorder or a breech birth. If this is not detected and treated at an early stage, it can lead to the child's femoral head or hip becoming dislocated. Now that hip sonography is carried out routinely on babies, only a small number of adults suffer hip dysplasia.
