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iEXCEL at the University of Nebraska Medical Center used ShapesXR to speed up the design of immersive VR training tools like Skullbase VR. By prototyping directly in 3D, the team improved communication, reduced iteration time, and created more intuitive interfaces. ShapesXR also helped align internal teams and made it easier for faculty and practitioners to engage with XR concepts—becoming a key part of their workflow.
iEXCEL at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is a state-of-the-art healthcare training center located in the 192,000 sq. ft. Davis Global Center in Omaha. Through a blend of high-fidelity simulation, hands-on surgical training, and advanced visualization, the center provides immersive learning for students, clinicians, and researchers.
They adopted VR to move beyond traditional methods and offer scalable, repeatable training that’s safer, more engaging, and improves knowledge retention. The iEXCEL objectives include improving clinical and surgical readiness, supporting interdisciplinary collaboration, and using VR to advance both education and medical innovation.
To streamline and accelerate the design and development of XR medical trainings, they turned to ShapesXR, a collaborative VR prototyping platform. One example is Skullbase VR, an application they created to help neurosurgery and Ear, Nose, & Throat (ENT) residents understand the anatomy of the skull base before performing cadaveric endoscopic dissections.
Using ShapesXR, the iEXCEL team was able to prototype user interfaces directly in 3D space, allowing them to explore scale, positioning, and ergonomics in ways that traditional 2D tools couldn’t support. They chose ShapesXR because they couldn’t find other solutions that allowed for UI/UX design and interactive prototyping directly in VR or AR.
ShapesXR stood out by focusing specifically on UI/UX prototyping rather than general 3D modeling or environment creation. Its intuitive interface allowed iEXCEL to design and test UI elements like menus and interactive components directly in an immersive environment, helping ensure that scale and ergonomics aligned naturally with their 3D content.
The workflow was both fast and collaborative. Starting with basic shapes and low-poly 3D models, the iEXCEL team built out each scene using ShapesXR’s interactive system. Once the prototype was ready, designers and developers met inside the app itself to review, edit, and finalize scenes together in real time. This immersive collaboration eliminated the guesswork that often comes with static mockups and flattened presentations. Learning the tool was straightforward, even for their interdisciplinary team of artists, developers, and medical illustrators. The shared VR space and presentation tools made it easy to guide their colleagues through design ideas, keeping everyone aligned from concept to the handoff to Unity developers.
“ShapesXR has significantly sped up our workflow, particularly in pre-production. It serves as an immersive, visual communication tool that bridges the gap between design and development, making it easier to create effective XR learning experiences for medical education.” - Jer Weann Ang, MS, iEXCEL Medical Illustrator
ShapesXR significantly improved the iEXCEL visualization workflow by streamlining communication between team members. It enabled real-time collaboration and reduced misinterpretations, making discussions more efficient and design iterations faster. This allowed them to create an effective, immersive learning tool and ensure that complex anatomical and medical concepts were accurately represented in a clear and functional UI.
The most valuable features were the ability to design intuitively in XR, quickly create interactive prototypes, and simulate user experience through simple behaviors—including controller interactions. The direct Unity import function also allowed the iEXCEL developer to work more efficiently.
It provided them with a visual and immersive method of communication between team members, improving efficiency in the pre-production stage and reducing the need for edits later on. Without ShapesXR, the production of their VR application would have taken a longer time.
iEXCEL plans to continue using ShapesXR as a key communication tool with faculty collaborators and external partners. Since many of them have limited experience with immersive technology, ShapesXR helps them understand the applications by letting them explore prototypes directly. It offers a more effective and intuitive way to convey design ideas than verbal explanations or static images, and the iEXCEL team sees it playing a key role in the design and development of their future VR trainings.
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