The Shanghai Thoracic Hospital has succeeded in developing the world's first artificial human chest bones, by using pig bones for the purpose of repairing broken thoracic walls.

According to the Beijing Daily, the artificial chest bones, or sternums, have so far only been used on dogs, but the experiments have proved successful. The sternums will be put into trial clinical use in one year's time, according to doctors cited by the newspaper.

To make artificial sternums, doctors first separated a small amount of rib cells from patients for breeding, and then transplanted them into pig bones the cells of which had been removed.

The human rib cells survived and grew on the pig bones, functioned as a culture medium, and absorbed the pig bones, which are decomposable. Finally a chest bone fully consisting of the patient's cells came into being, according to Tan Qiang, who was in charge of the experiment.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2003)