In the operating theatre more than seven years ago, a business idea was formed.
Jacqui O’Connor, then working as a surgical rep, would set about turning the idea into a start-up business while on maternity leave.
The time away from the surgery room did nothing to quell her assertion that there was a problem to solve and a gap to fill.
In her position as a surgical rep, O’Connor couldn’t help but notice the frustration that surgeons had with not being able to accurately interpret the depth of the scale of a scan. She knew then that a 3D printed model, harnessing the scan data they were trying to work with, would go a long way to easing their irritations.
What O’Connor built with co-founder James Wall is a business that uses 3D printing technology to produce anatomically precise vascular models that support training, research, and surgical practices.
Last month, that business, MedScan 3D, was the winner of the start-up pitch competition at MedTech Innovation Expo 2026.
In her pitch, O’Connor explained how, just with our fingerprints, the shape of our internal organs and the curvature of our bones are unique. So, when patients are diagnosed with such issues as intercranial aneurysms, the most suitable method of care would be one that is tailored to them. A 2D flat plane of something as complex as the brain should not suffice, and the frantic environment of an operating theatre is not always the best place to be making complex and hard decisions.
More ideal would be a patient-specific 3D anatomical model printed days or weeks in advance of the surgery that would help surgeons determine the best course of action for when the patient comes into the operating theatre.
At MedTech Innovation Expo, the judging panel agreed. And after MedScan 3D was named the winner of the pitch competition, MedTech Insights Editor Oli Johnson [OJ] caught up with O’Connor [JO]. Here is an edited transcript of their conversation.
