CIRACET Summer Internship Program 2025: Preparing Puerto Rico’s Next Generation of Healthcare Innovators
The 2025 CIRACET Summer Internship Program took place within the Healthcare Innovation Center (HIC) ecosystem in Ponce. It was an intensive, six-week experience in which students from medicine, biomedical engineering, software engineering, computer science, biology, and biomedical sciences worked side by side on real healthcare challenges. Participants came from the University of Puerto Rico, the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Health Sciences University, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Each intern joined an interdisciplinary team assigned to a project proposed by a CIRACET division. Managers and mentors from CIRACET and HIC guided the teams in a hybrid format that combined in-person sessions with virtual collaboration.
Several projects strengthened digital solutions that already serve Puerto Rico’s healthcare sector. One team expanded the CSN (Clinical Social Network) BackOffice. They added Microsoft Entra sign-in for secure access, a clone function for faster alert creation, and bilingual alert editing in English and Spanish. Another team designed an AI decision module for CAMS. It uses neural networks, logistic regression, and decision trees to analyze maintenance histories and anticipate equipment failures, while final decisions stay with clinical staff. A third team produced a bilingual, easily updatable user manual for CAMS 7 to support adoption by healthcare institutions. Interns also built a structured program for documenting nonconformities and corrective actions in SharePoint, aligned with CAPA and ISO 9001, replacing paper-based processes with standardized digital workflows.
Other teams focused on research and early-stage concepts tied directly to local needs. One team proposed MediConnect, a paramedic app concept designed to integrate with the Puerto Rico Health Information Exchange. It would give paramedics real-time access to patient records and secure communication with hospitals during emergencies. Another team explored neurological rehabilitation technologies and proposed the RestEase Monitor, a wearable concept for tracking Restless Legs Syndrome episodes. A telemedicine study examined adoption barriers among physicians and insurers in Puerto Rico. A hospital-at-home study, inspired by the CMS Acute Hospital Care at Home model, evaluated the feasibility of a home-based cardiac rehabilitation program on the island.
The program also included a seminar series with healthcare and technology leaders, and more than 50 students attended these sessions, including first-year medical students. The speakers and topics were:
- Eng. Oscar Misla-Villalba on clinical engineering and Health Technology Management
- Oscar Misla-Torres on Equiply and the role of local health-tech startups
- Dr. Gilberto J. Alvarado Díaz on ACL graft reliability
- Eng. Alan Koo on generative AI in healthcare
- Dr. Jorge Martínez Trabal on positive disruption in Puerto Rico’s healthcare system
Together, these sessions linked global trends in AI, interoperability, and health technology management to the realities of care delivery in Puerto Rico.
For HIC, the program shows that connecting academia, industry, and clinical practice is essential to building a stronger healthcare workforce on the island. The cohort’s experience also produced clear lessons for future editions: a longer program, stronger incentives for participants, greater access to technical resources, and more structured mentorship and networking. HIC invites hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, medical device firms, technology providers, and universities to help shape future cohorts by proposing projects, sponsoring participants, or referring talent. Organizations can reach HIC at info@hicpr.com or (787) 709-4525.
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