BlackBerry wants to make phones safe on the outside too

Jun 25, 2015 06:49 GMT  ·  By

A few days ago, Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry reported its financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2016. The company said that, during Q1 2016, it managed to ship out 1.1 million smartphones, which marks a decline compared to the previous year.

But even so, BlackBerry still has faith in its powers, so it will continue to push its smartphone agenda as usual. Actually, the most recent hearsay indicates that the company is looking to introduce a low-end Android smartphone aimed at emerging markets, and it might also be looking to squeeze itself into the medical sector.

BlackBerry wants to make phones for hospitals

BNN talked to BlackBerry CEO John Chen, who revealed that the company might take up building bacteria-free handsets that will be designed for use in hospitals and medical centers.

The official made sure to clarify that such a model was not yet being developed by the company, but BlackBerry was entertaining the idea.

Chief medical information officer at regional healthcare provider Mackenzie Health Aviv Gladman is quoted as saying that finding ways to prevent bacteria and infections from spreading back and forth is a crucial problem hospitals have to deal with.

According to a study conducted by the Journal of Applied Microbiology, 20 to 30% of germs get easily transferred between a phone and a fingertip. In order to prevent this from happening, nurses and doctors are supposed to wipe their phone with alcohol every time they enter or exit a patient room. But sometimes they fail to do so.

BlackBerry re-orienting itself towards the medical sector

Hospital-acquired infections are known to be one of the leading causes of death among patients, so hospitals have to take this threat very seriously. So if BlackBerry steps into the picture and provides health facilities with bacteria-free devices, doctors and nurses will have one less thing to worry about.

Chen says he already visited Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital where he signed a deal with Cisco and ThoughWire for a portable messaging and alert system. BlackBerry will be in charge of deploying the software.

This will be an interesting development for BlackBerry, which has been trying to shift its focus from the consumer handset market to the enterprise market.

We’re pretty curious to find out more about the company’s new product, especially how BlackBerry plans to tackle making a phone bacteria-free.