ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –  Contributing to the future of health care, two Central New Mexico Community College students built a smart device that would help doctors and their patients. From laser cutting to welding and even 3D printing. “Just a variety of skills to take what they are imagining and be able to actualize it in a real product,” says IT Instructor, Brian Rashap.

In CNM’s Ingenuity Internet of Things boot camp. Students get a ten-week crash course in coding and hardware design. In the most recent course, Janel Sanchez and her classmate Constance created a smart health monitor. “This is the first time that we’ve had students that have done two things, it’s our first wearable product, and it’s our first health product,” Rashap says.

Both students have a background in the healthcare field and wanted to create a device that would help physicians be more efficient. “So if they’re able to monitor vitals away from having to go to the room every while to get it done, it would save them time and the data would be more consistent as it uploads,” Constance says.

The students say it also provides support for those who wear the device. “You put it on and we have some sensors underneath that will monitor your temperature your O2 stats. So if they fell all of a sudden it would indicate that fall there’s a call button on here,” Constance says.

The smart health monitor took only two weeks to make and both students are looking forward to using this experience, in tech careers, down the road. “I definitely didn’t have access to this stuff when I was younger so knowing that we have it as an adult and being able to take the class growing up really meant something to me because now I can learn it and hopefully use those skills to give back,” said Sanchez.

All the materials to create the device costs less than $100. Their idea was just for the class and will not be available to buy.