More than 1,000 medical experts and industry representatives are in Dublin to attend an international conference on health technology over the next four days.
Robotic surgery, DNA testing for the Human Papillomavirus, and patient's quality of life are among the topics to be discussed at the Health Technology Assessment event.
HTA is a discipline which provides advice for policy makers on whether to fund specific technologies in their health services.
Delegates from over 44 countries, including the US, Cuba, Australia and China, are due to attend the conference.
They will be debating whether all new drugs and technologies should be financed by the public healthcare system, and if we are getting value for money from these treatments.
The event starts today and is being hosted by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
