BlackBerry CEO John Chen recently shared that the Canadian smartphone manufacturer may design a bacteria-free handset as a part of the company's offer of a secure mobile choice for the health-care industry.

According to a report in The Times of India, talking to reports at a Toronto hospital where BlackBerry has launched a clinical alerts pilot project, Chen said that with a bacteria-free handset, "health-care workers have to be worried about one less thing to wipe down." However, BlackBerry chief executive said that currently his company was not developing the "clean phone."

Meanwhile, BlackBerry is collaborating with ThoughtWire and Cisco Systems Inc to provide nurses and doctors in a unit of Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital with a portable messaging and alert system. While it has been confirmed that the company will be supplying the software and devices, it did not disclose tha amount it is spending on the project.

According to the chief medical information officer at Mackenzie Health Dr. Aviv Gladman, transfer of infections and bacteria between patients in hospitals is a "huge issue." He added that medical equipment in patients' rooms, including mobile phones, can carry bacteria through the hospital.

Hence, it is essential for medical professionals to wipe their phone with alcohol before entering and exiting a patient's room, Dr. Gladman said. Findings of a recently study that were carried in the Journal of Applied Microbiology revealed that approximatedly 20 to 30 percent of germs are transferred between a phone and a fingertip.

The doctor added while hospitals are still unaware of the effectiveness of alcohol wipes in eliminating bacteria from phones, medical professionals too don't wipe their devices all the time. According to Dr. Gladman, hospital-acquired infections are among the top reasons for patient deaths in hospitals.

Since Waterloo, Ontario-bsed BlackBerry is struggling to compete with its rivals like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., it has now moved its focus on manufacturing high-security software.