Radiographic study of the hip joint to determine anthropometric parameters for Indian population

Hip replacement surgeries are on the rise in India. However, for these surgeries, most of the implants used are imported and manufactured entirely to suit the geometrical considerations of the western population. Studies in the past have shown that there are anatomical variations in the hip joint for different ethnic backgrounds and geographical locations. There is paucity of anthropometric hip joint data related to Indian population and anthropometric variations in skeletal geometry between Asian and Western counterparts have not yet been thoroughly reviewed and considered for implant manufacturing. The purpose of this anthropometric study is to determine any anatomical variations in the normal hip joint among the Indian population and to statistically compare the mean values with the existing data on western population. 422 Hip radiographs of 211 individuals (141 males and 70 females) with normal and healthy hip joints were evaluated to obtain the horizontal offset, vertical offset and neck shaft angle. For males, mean neck shaft angle was 127.68° (SD = 3.94), horizontal offset was 34.60mm (SD=6.55) and vertical offset was 39.17 mm (SD = 5.86). For females, mean neck shaft angle was 125.92° (SD = 4.75), horizontal offset was 32.96 mm (SD = 7.04) and vertical offset was 36.38 mm (SD = 6.28). When these parameters were compared to the data available from western world, there were significant anatomical variations and it was evident that there is a need to evaluate existing implants in relation to this data and possibly design the implants suited and relevant to Indian population.