The new Blackberry Classic smartphone is displayed during the launch event in New York, December 17, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
IN PHOTO: The new Blackberry Classic smartphone is displayed during the launch event in New York, December 17, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

BlackBerry is in plans to design a bacteria free smartphone so that it can be used in hospitals. With this, the smartphone manufacturer aims at becoming the most secured option for secure mobile communications within the healthcare industry, as per reports.

According to a report on Tech Times, BlackBerry’s CEO, John Chen shared this information to reporters at a hospital in Toronto, where the smartphone maker had launched a clinical alerts pilot project. With the planned bacteria free smartphone, “Health care workers have to be worried about one less thing to wipe down,” a Digital Trends report quoted John Chen, as saying.

BlackBerry has partnered with Cisco Systems and ThoughtWire to provide doctors and nurses in a unit of the Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital with a portable alert and messaging system, reports Tech Times. As per the publication, BlackBerry will provide the software and devices required for the project, however, it did not reveal any details on the amount that the company would spend on this project.

According to Mackenzie Health's chief medical information officer, Dr Aviv Gladman, the transferring of bacteria and infections among people and patients within hospital is one of the major concerns and devices like mobile phones, medical equipment located within the rooms of patients can transport bacteria throughout the hospital, reports Tech Times.

Gladman said that medical industry professionals are instructed to wipe their mobile phones with alcohol before entering and exiting a patient’s room. As per Gladman, quite a lot of patients die due to infections acquired from within the hospital, reported Tech Times.

BlackBerry is known for thinking ‘out-of-the-box’, reports Digital Trends. The Canadian smartphone maker released the BlackBerry Passport last year and some unconfirmed reports suggest that its sequel could be released sometime this year. The company is reportedly working on a slider phone and an Android smartphone, according to a report on Digital Trends.

(For feedback/comments, mail the writer at pragyan.ibtimes@gmail.com)

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