Shares of safety surgical products maker Patient Safety Technologies Inc. more than doubled Monday on news that medical supply giant Cardinal Health Inc. had signed a three-year national distribution agreement for its patented Safety Sponge System.

Cardinal Health will package the Los Angeles company’s Lap sponges, gauze sponges and OR towels in Cardinal’s Presource surgical kits and trays, according to a release from Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal.

The distribution deal, terms of which were not disclosed, is a major advance for Patient Safety’s SurgiCount Medical subsidiary, which has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance to market the Safety-Sponge system in March. To date, most of its sales have directly to hospitals.

Patient Safety, which has been under an American Stock Exchange delisting warning, disclosed last month that it was reviewing an unsolicited acquisition offer for SurgiCount by an unidentified third party. The company also has considered spinning off the subsidiary.

The lap sponges and towels are thermally fused with a unique, patented bar code. Items are swiped under a scanning counter before surgery to obtain a count. At the end of surgery, the labels are swiped to verify the number of items.

Shares of Patient Safety Technologies closed up 164 percent Monday to $2.20.