A small start-up 3D printing company in Galway has offered to supply medical components to hospitals if they are experiencing shortages.
Galway Technology Ltd are following the example of a company in Italy who stepped in to help hospitals when they ran short of valves.
The west of Ireland is an established hub for medical devices, parts and components. Husband and wife team James Wall and Jacqui O'Connor combined their bio-medical engineering skills to set up MedScan3D which produces 3D printed models for the healthcare sector.
Now they are offering a non-profit service to hospitals, if supplies run low. Mr Wall said they just needed samples of items in order to scan and create a file ready for printing.