IN BRIEF (Page 19)

More elderly need joint replacements

There were about 200,000 artificial joint replacements in the Chinese mainland in 2011, and imported joints took up the lion's share on the market, the Chinese Orthopedic Association's head Wang Yan says.

As the country rapidly ages, the demand for orthopedic surgeries, including joint replacements, will continue to increase, he says. About 20 million patients of various bone diseases need operations a year.