When one of the world's best-selling authors writes PATI® into a scene by name, it's more than a literary moment. It's a signal that awareness of oral injury during seizures has reached mainstream culture.
In The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown's sixth Robert Langdon novel and an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, the iconic Harvard professor encounters atonic-clonic seizure first-aid scene. In that moment, Langdon identifies PATI® by name as the FDA-cleared oral airway protection device built for exactly that situation.
For the epilepsy community, and for the millions of caregivers and bystanders who have never been taught what to do during a seizure, that moment matters.
The Secret of Secrets arrived on bookshelves as one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Within days, it climbed to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, putting it in the hands of millions of readers worldwide.
Brown's inclusion of PATI® wasn't incidental. In a scene centered on seizure first aid, the narrative treats PATI® as a known, credible tool, something a knowledgeable person would recognize and name. That's not product placement. That's cultural legitimacy.
For a medical device designed to protect patients during tonic-clonic seizures, there is no bigger earned-media moment than appearing in the pages of a global phenomenon, woven naturally into a scene that models exactly what informed seizure response looks like.
PATI® (Protector Against Tongue Injury) is the first FDA-cleared oral and airway protection device designed to help protect patients during tonic-clonic seizures. Developed by NeuroVice, PATI® was built with a singular focus: addressing the oral injuries that remain one of the most common and least discussed consequences of seizures.
Oral injury during a tonic-clonic seizure is a real and under addressed concern. Despite widespread awareness of seizure first aid, most protocols stop short of addressing what happens to a patient's mouth and airway in the moments a seizure is actively occurring. PATI® was engineered to fill that gap; FDA-cleared, designed for caregivers and first responders, and available through a simple telehealth prescribing process.
Clearance - FDA-cleared oral protection device
Designed For - Tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures
Purpose - Helps protect the airway, tongue, and teeth during a seizure
Prescribing - Available via telehealth through MD Integrations (accessible through usepati.com)
Fulfillment - Shipped directly through BlinkRx virtual pharmacy to a patient's home
Learn More @ usepati.com
Epilepsy affects approximately 3.4 million Americans, and tonic-clonic seizures remain one of the most frightening and misunderstood medical events a bystander can witness. Despite decades of public health education, most people still don't know the current seizure first aid guidelines, and even fewer know that oral injury is a documented risk.
Fiction has always shaped how the public understands medicine. When a trusted fictional character, one readers have followed across six novels and two blockbuster films, handles a seizure with care and names a real tool by name, it does something that no ad campaign or awareness month can fully replicate: it makes knowledge feel like common sense.
That's the gift of this moment. Dan Brown didn't describe PATI® as experimental or obscure. He placed it in the hands of Robert Langdon, one of fiction's most recognizable symbols of intelligence and preparation, and treated it as something that an informed, capable person simply knows about.
We want to be clear about something: this moment isn't about celebrity or bestseller lists. It's about what it means for a family whose child has epilepsy to pick up a novel, one their neighbor is reading, one their coworker mentioned, and see their reality treated with accuracy and respect.
It's about the caregiver who has been trying to explain oral injury risk to a skeptical extended family member, and now has a way to make that conversation land differently.
It's about the patient who has lived with epilepsy for years and never once saw their experience reflected in popular culture, until now.
PATI® exists because this community deserves protection and because caregivers deserve tools. Dan Brown's inclusion of PATI® in The Secret of Secrets is a reminder that the conversation is growing, and that the world is beginning to understand what this community has always known.
If you or someone you love is living with epilepsy and managing tonic-clonic seizures, we invite you to learn more about PATI® and whether it may be appropriate for your care plan.
A conversation with your neurologist or care team is the right first step. PATI® is available by prescription through our telehealth partner, no in-office visit required.
Visit www.usepati.com to learn about PATI, how to talk to your neurologist,and how to access PATI® through our telehealth prescribing process.
PATI® is FDA-cleared to help protect the oral airway during tonic-clonic seizures. PATI® does not prevent, stop, or treat seizures or epilepsy. PATI® is available by prescription only. Consult your neurologist or healthcare provider to determine whether PATI® is appropriate for your individual care plan. Individual results may vary.
© 2026 NeuroVice Inc. All rights reserved. PATI® is a registered trademark of NeuroVice Inc. Dan Brown and The Secret of Secrets referenced with permission.