Jade Snow Medical

Jade Snow Medical

Jade Snow Medical

NeuroPrint: A global hub advancing safer surgery with lifelike 3D-printed models and customised training and planning support.

London, UK

GBR

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), neurosurgical training faces critical barriers — high costs, limited access to cadavers, and a lack of realistic, hands-on tools. These challenges contribute to skill gaps, surgical errors, and unequal patient outcomes. Globally, 5 billion people lack access to safe surgery, according to the WHO. In Ethiopia, for example, there are fewer than one neurosurgeon per million people, with minimal access to simulation-based training. Meanwhile, in high-income settings like the UK, the NHS pays approximately £2.4 billion annually in clinical negligence claims, with 30–35% — around £700–£840 million — linked to surgical errors. Existing training models are often expensive, inaccessible, and lack the realism needed to reduce avoidable harm. Jade Snow Medical addresses this global challenge by providing lifelike, affordable 3D-printed brain, skull, and spine models for surgical training and planning. Our NeuroPrint models directly address these gaps by offering low-cost, highly realistic, and repeatable alternatives to cadavers — customisable for local resources and practice needs. Beyond products, Jade Snow Medical acts as a collaborative platform — bringing together clinicians, educators, and engineers to co-create open-access surgical training innovations that scale globally, improve safety, and democratise access to high-quality neurosurgical education.

NeuroPrint is a 3D-printed model suite developed by Jade Snow Medical for neurosurgical training and surgical planning. It includes lifelike brain, skull, and spine models that replicate complex anatomical features such as blood vessels and the dura mater. These models offer an ethical, repeatable alternative to cadavers — helping medical trainees and professionals build skills with greater safety, consistency, and accessibility. Using patient imaging data (such as CT or MRI scans), we apply advanced image processing and in-house expertise to convert scans into 3D-printable files. These can be printed using cost-effective techniques, and we provide local partners with post-processing guidance to add tactile membranes and internal brain structures for more realistic simulation. The technology merges medical imaging, digital processing, and advanced manufacturing into a flexible, modular system. We offer both physical models and digital packages for distributed, locally adapted production. What makes our approach innovative is not just the models — it’s the system around them. Jade Snow Medical is building a global, decentralised hub where clinicians, engineers, and educators co-develop tools, exchange surgical insights, and accelerate access to safer, more inclusive surgical training worldwide — transforming how knowledge and tools are created, shared, and applied across borders.

Our solution serves a global population of medical trainees, surgeons, and healthcare educators who need realistic, hands-on neurosurgical training and planning tools. While the need is global, it is especially urgent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where access to cadavers, surgical simulators, and planning tools is severely limited. We have successfully supported hospitals in high-resource settings, such as Queen Square Hospital in the UK, where our models are now used in formal neurosurgical training courses. Building on this success, we are expanding our impact to underserved regions. In Ethiopia, for example, we are working with a senior neurosurgeon and the makerspace at Addis Ababa University to support local training courses and co-develop context-specific tools. Cadavers are often unavailable, and training has traditionally relied on sheep cadavers, which lack the complexity of human anatomy. Existing commercial models are expensive and often lack necessary anatomical detail. Our affordable, customisable models fill this critical gap. By providing image processing services (converting patient scans into printable files for local manufacturing), accessible training tools, and sharing knowledge on local production and post-processing, we aim to improve skill development, reduce surgical errors, and make high-quality surgical education more equitable worldwide.