What Lifecast Body Simulation does

Lifecast Body Simulation Ltd is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of hyper-realistic medical simulation manikins, founded in 2017 by Dave Halliwell and Rob Clark, both former Heads of Education in the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care sector. Each manikin is built from 3D body scans and lifecasts of real patients (e.g., an 82-year-old male 'Pete', a seven-year-old girl with Down syndrome named 'Gwen'), then hand-finished using techniques drawn from the film special-effects industry — hand-painted silicone skin, hand-punched hair, and replicated underlying venous and anatomical structures. The portfolio spans four life-stage lines: Preterm & Neonatal (including what the company describes as the world's first 22-23 week Micro-Preemie, plus ALS Pre-Term and Full-Term Baby manikins), Pediatrics (Infant, Toddler, Thoracic Trauma Toddler, Child, and the specialty 'Gwen'), Adults (Male, Female, Male Torso), and Seniors ('Pete' and 'Vivien'). Production is split between Elstree Film Studios in London and Sarasota, Florida.

The business is monetized through one-time sales of bespoke hardware, priced on a quote basis with no publicly disclosed price list, plus a special-projects pipeline for custom commissions such as the SHERIF High Realism Manikin. Following its August 2023 acquisition by Hamburg-based 3B Scientific Group, all commercial transactions are routed through 3B Scientific's e-commerce platform and global channel, which the parent distributes in more than 130 countries. End customers are healthcare education institutions, hospitals, and simulation centers using the manikins for ALS airway management, CPR, intraosseous access, needle decompression, tension pneumothorax, and bias-aware/inclusive training scenarios.

Name

Lifecast Body Simulation

Legal name

Lifecast Body Simulation Ltd

Website

https://lifecastbodysim.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lifecast Body Simulation designs and manufactures hyper-realistic, 3D-scanned medical training manikins across neonatal, pediatric, adult, and senior life stages, selling to healthcare education institutions and simulation centers globally via its parent 3B Scientific's distribution network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Simulation Manikins

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

EMS Education, Training & Simulation Centers (HLAFANAL)

Keywords

• Medical simulation manikins
• Healthcare training equipment
• Neonatal training manikins
• Clinical education tools
• Patient simulation products

Headquarters

HQ city

Borehamwood

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Manikin hardware sales: One-time sales of hyper-realistic, bespoke medical training manikins spanning micro-preemie to senior adult. Products are presented as 'bespoke items' with customization options (ethnicity, hand-punched hair, etc.). Orders are routed through 3B Scientific, which redirects users from the Lifecast site to its own e-commerce platform to complete the purchase.
2. Special projects and bespoke commissions: Lifecast runs a 'Special Projects' pipeline (e.g., the SHERIF High Realism Manikin), indicating custom commission work for healthcare education clients in addition to its standard catalog.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Core offering

Lifecast Body Simulation manufactures and sells hyper-realistic medical training manikins built from 3D body scans and lifecasts of real people, hand-finished with film special-effects techniques. The product range spans micro-preemie and pre-term babies, full-term newborns, infants, toddlers, children (including a child with Down Syndrome), adults, and senior manikins (e.g., Pete and Vivien), with multi-ethnicity options and clinical features such as ALS airway management, intraosseous access, needle decompression, and CPR compatibility. Since August 2023, the company operates as part of the 3B Scientific Group of Companies, distributing globally through the parent.

Product overview

Lifecast Body Simulation operates as a single-product-family manufacturer rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture, producing a portfolio of hyper-realistic, silicone medical simulation manikins organised into four life-stage lines: Preterm & Neonatal (Micro-Preemie, ALS Pre-Term Baby, ALS Full Term Baby, Miscarriage Education Manikins), Pediatrics (Infant 3-6m, Toddler, Toddler Torso, Thoracic Trauma Toddler, Child, and Child with Down Syndrome 'Gwen'), Adults (Adult Male, Adult Female, Adult Male Torso), and Seniors (Senior Male 'Pete' and Senior Female 'Vivien'). All manikins share the same design and production approach — based on lifecasts and 3D scans of real people, hand-painted silicone skin, ALS-compatible airway management, intraosseous access, needle decompression, CPR compatibility, and a wide range of ethnicities — and are manufactured at Elstree Film Studios in London and Sarasota, Florida. Since August 2023, Lifecast Body Simulation Ltd has operated as part of the 3B Scientific Group of Companies, distributing globally via the parent group's channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pete: Pete is the brand name of the Lifecast Body Simulation 82-year-old male senior manikin.
• Vivien
• Gwen

Products and services

• Micro-Preemie Baby Manikin (22-23 Gestation)

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Laerdal Medical: Global leader in medical simulation and resuscitation training, with the iconic Resusci Anne and a broad family of adult, paediatric, and neonatal manikins. Directly competes with Lifecast across the ALS airway management and resuscitation training category, but at much higher volume and lower realism per unit.
• Nasco Healthcare: US manufacturer of training manikins and task trainers across CPR, airway, trauma, and birthing. Directly comparable to Lifecast's adult, paediatric, and pre-term manikin lines, particularly in CPR-compatible and trauma simulation segments.
• Gaumard Scientific: US-based manufacturer of patient simulators and obstetric, neonatal, paediatric, and adult manikins (e.g., the SimNewB, Super Tory, HAL family). Closest direct competitor in the high-end neonatal and paediatric manikin segment where Lifecast positions its ALS Baby, Toddler, and Child lines.
• Simulaids: Long-established US maker of trauma, CPR, and rescue training manikins (e.g., SMART STAT, Rescue Manikins). Comparable product category — pre-hospital and emergency care training manikins — though positioned at lower realism and lower price points than Lifecast's bespoke silicone range.

Broad incumbents

• CAE Healthcare (Elevate Healthcare): Broad healthcare simulation incumbent offering adult, paediatric, and birthing simulators (CAE Apollo, Lucina, Juno) plus turnkey centre solutions. Overlaps with Lifecast across the adult and paediatric patient simulation category but competes primarily as an integrated solutions provider rather than a realism-focused specialty manufacturer.
• 3B Scientific: Hamburg-based global manufacturer of anatomical models and medical education products, founded 1948, and Lifecast's parent company since August 2023. Broad incumbent offering overlapping product categories (anatomical models, basic manikins) into which Lifecast's hyper-realistic specialty range is now distributed.

Emerging players

• Limbs & Things: UK-based maker of procedural task trainers and part-task manikins used in medical and nursing schools. Partial overlap with Lifecast in clinical-skills and procedure training; complementary rather than head-to-head on full-body hyper-realistic manikins.
• Surgical Science: Sweden-based provider of virtual reality and screen-based simulation for medical training. Adjacent competitor as simulation-based medical education increasingly blends physical manikins like Lifecast's with VR/software — represents both a substitute and a potential integration partner.

Regional players

• Kyoto Kagaku: Japanese manufacturer of medical phantoms, anatomical models, and simulation manikins used widely in APAC medical education. Comparable offering across patient simulation and procedure trainers, primarily serving Asian markets where Lifecast's distribution is via 3B Scientific's channel partners.

Others

• iSimulate: Sister company of Lifecast within the 3B Scientific Group, providing physiological monitoring and patient monitor simulation (e.g., ALSi). Advocated companion system alongside Lifecast's Thoracic Trauma Toddler and Micro-Preemie manikins — an ecosystem partner rather than a competitor, but useful for understanding Lifecast's stack.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lifecastbodysim
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lifecast-body-simulation-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lifecast Body Simulation