In the high-stakes world of operating rooms, where a single miscommunication can lead to tragedy, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-affiliated startup is deploying virtual reality to rewrite the rules of teamwork training. MaiaZura’s Bizon360 Teamwork platform immerses surgeons, nurses, and staff in hyper-realistic scenarios, fostering empathy and precision under pressure. Founded by Lukasz Mazur, PhD, the company draws on rigorous pilot data showing dramatic gains in safety behaviors after just 30 minutes of use.

Birth of a VR Revolution in Healthcare Training

Mazur, associate professor in UNC’s School of Medicine and adjunct faculty across its Gillings School of Global Public Health and School of Information and Library Science, launched MaiaZura to tackle entrenched issues like poor coordination—blamed for 70% of healthcare errors, according to research cited by UNC-Chapel Hill. His background in industrial engineering and human factors engineering positions him to bridge gaps between mental workload, system design flaws, and preventable mistakes. “Our approach is different because it’s immersive and creates empathy from different perspectives, which activates people to learn,” Mazur told Innovate Carolina.

Bizon360 doesn’t merely simulate procedures; it recreates the chaos of real crises. Users don VR headsets like the Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye to witness a patient’s heartbeat falter on an EKG, a surgical drain overfill due to an untrained traveling nurse, a code blue erupt, and chest compressions fail amid a flatline—”Time of death: 14:05.” The scene shifts to a nurse’s home, where her daughter laments, “You’re so busy lately, just working all the time,” or a family member’s anguished phone call about surgical complications. Learners switch viewpoints—from attending physician to patient—evaluating policy lapses like dual-room coverage or unrecognized staff fatigue.

From Filming Real Wards to Virtual Drills

MaiaZura’s production team, boasting filmmaking and VR expertise, captures 360° footage onsite at hospitals and homes, layering ambient audio for authenticity. The platform integrates as a “motivational layer” atop tools like TeamSTEPPS, Lean, and Six Sigma, per Mazur. “There are a variety of tools, concepts and philosophies that hospitals use to train people to become better teams. MaiaZura is the motivational layer that comes underneath those existing training methods,” he explained to Innovate Carolina. Accessible via desktop, tablet, mobile, or VR with LTI 1.3 LMS compatibility, it supports co-branding and custom APIs.

Dr. Jin Ra, professor of surgery and associate chair for quality and safety at UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery, embodies early adoption. He collaborated with Mazur on a 2022 UNC Center for Health Innovation Pilot Award to probe safety breakdowns and craft VR modules. Photos show Ra immersed in Bizon360, highlighting its role in UNC’s ecosystem, backed by Innovate Carolina’s commercialization support. Mazur credits Dean Stell, associate director of UNC’s Office of Technology Commercialization, for navigating IP licensing: “Creating and growing our company wouldn’t happen without the support I received from the UNC Center for Health Innovation and Innovate Carolina’s commercialization and KickStart teams.”

Team composition underscores clinical depth: VP of Product Development Shawna Buchanan (RN, CCRN), VP of Immersive Technology Christi Fenison (MS), Chief Relationship Officer Karen Burke (MD), and VP of Medical Education Jin Ra (MD). This blend drives Bizon360’s evidence-based design, rooted in TeamSTEPPS, HFACS, and high-reliability organization principles.

Pilot Data Validates Rapid Behavior Shifts

A landmark 2025 pilot study, published in JMIR Medical Education, tested Bizon360 at a large academic center with 55 operating rooms. Researchers observed 101 baseline surgical cases across 83 surgeons using the validated Teamwork Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills (TENTS) instrument, scoring 20 behaviors on a 0-3 scale (0: not observed; 3: excellent). Pre-intervention averages hovered at 2.2 (“acceptable”).

Post-intervention, 10 surgeons underwent 45-minute VR sessions with pre- and post-debriefs; 10 controls did not. VR trainees surged to 2.5 average (range 2.3-2.7), with statistically significant gains (P<.05) in 18 of 20 behaviors—like communicating appropriately (2.227 to 2.708), leading effectively (2.274 to 2.708), and seeking help (2.26 to 2.708). Controls stayed at 2.1. Qualitative analysis of 492 debrief quotes revealed sense-making themes tying immersion to behavioral change. “VR-based immersive training intervention focused on TeamSTEPPS principles seems effective in improving safety behaviors,” the study concluded, calling for larger trials.

Conducted under UNC IRB (22-1150), observations spanned October 2022 to November 2023 by trained medical students blinded to group status. This nonrandomized pilot underscores VR’s scalability amid 4,000 annual U.S. preventable surgical errors.

Targeting Burnout and Workforce Crisis

Beyond ORs, Bizon360 confronts clinician burnout—nearly 50% of physicians in 2024 per Medscape, 20% depressed; 40% of nurses eyeing exits within five years, per National Council of State Boards of Nursing data cited in UNC-Chapel Hill. Errors cost billions yearly; physician replacement hits $500,000. “We don’t have enough doctors, nurses and technicians—particularly in rural areas—and we have to do something to attract people to these professions,” Mazur said. “But, even if we get people to enter the profession, we cannot continue to burn them out. It’s simply unacceptable that every week physicians and nurses commit suicide caused by burnout, depression, and/or moral injury.”

The platform extends to home scenes, humanizing stressors and prompting policy reflection: adequate coverage? Untrained travelers? Fatigued staff? “We take you through the full experience and all the layers… Our training tells you the whole story about why the tragedy occurred, even though no one in the situation wanted or expected it to happen,” Mazur noted. Emotional engagement—trainees often tear up—drives 90% retention of behaviors after one session, per MaiaZura.

Inspired by bison facing storms head-on, the brand symbolizes resilience. As UNC’s AR/VR ecosystem grows—spanning simulation centers and interest groups—MaiaZura positions VR as indispensable for high-reliability teams.

Broader VR Momentum in Surgical Prep

MaiaZura joins a surging field. Osso VR, with $109 million funding, offers haptic simulations for orthopedics; FundamentalVR targets haptics for surgery. A Healthcare Innovation report notes VR’s standardization push at institutions like Hospital for Special Surgery. Studies affirm VR matches or exceeds dry-lab training, per PubMed meta-analyses.

Yet MaiaZura differentiates via teamwork over technical drills, addressing non-technical skills overlooked in residencies. As digital ORs evolve—NVIDIA partnerships, AI imaging per PA Consulting—its LMS-ready modules scale affordably, sans cadavers or pigs. With UNC validation, MaiaZura eyes expansion beyond surgery, adapting HRO principles to ICUs or emergencies.

For industry leaders, the imperative is clear: integrate such tools to cut errors, retain talent, and safeguard patients amid shortages. Mazur’s vision: “We get you to think about how you can be a leader beyond the bedside… What can you do to improve patient engagement?”