Specialized Health Products, Bountiful, Utah, was awarded safety needle patent Nos. 14, 15 and 16 for its Inline Retractable, Prefilled Cartridge System and Winged Steel Needle technologies. These safety technologies apply to IV catheters, prefilled cartridge syringes, winged needles and other medical needles.

The Diabetes Center at Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, will provide MiniMed's implanted continuous glucose sensor system to diabetic patients. The device, which received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for use in clinics and doctors' offices, continuously records patients' glucose levels. They then can be downloaded to a computer for analysis. "With this knowledge, the patient and physician are in a better position to make decisions to best manage the disease," said Philip Levin, M.D., the center's director.

Pride Mobility Products, Exeter, Pa., opened Pride Florida, a distribution center in Tampa, Fla. Scott Meuser, Pride chairman and chief executive officer, said the center should improve service and timeliness of shipments to Florida providers. "As an extension of Pride Mobility Products Corp. in Exeter, Pa., it allows Florida providers to utilize their current sales teams, account executives and customer service representatives with the presence of a Pride corporate office in Florida," Meuser said.

Medline Industries, Mundelein, Ill., has released a CD-ROM version of its 1,000-page catalog that includes the company's product line of more than 100,000 medical supplies. The CD enables customers to view product information, product specifications, photographs and electronic versions of the company's product literature, and to place orders.

Fisher & Paykel, Wellington, New Zealand, has sold its mobility scooter business to Australia-based Plega Healthcare as part of a refocusing of its core business. The company wants to strengthen its market in its core health care products: continuous positive airway pressure devices, humidification and patient warming, officials said. According to Fisher & Paykel officials, mobility scooters accounted for less than 3 percent of total sales. The company's current scooter customers will continue to be supported by Plega through the established network of dealers, retailers and authorized service centers in Australia and New Zealand, officials said.