Devices & Diagnostics, Startups

This entrepreneur’s device is designed to protect the tongue during a seizure

NeuroVice's device is designed to provide a safe way to protect tongues and minimize salivation during seizures.

Ashlynn Sanders, NeuroVice’s founder and CEO

Ashlyn Sanders, NeuroVice’s founder and CEO

People who suffer from epilepsy and other seizure-causing disorders have needed a safe way to protect their tongues and minimize salivation. North Carolina-based NeuroVice is working on a solution, an oral device called PATI (protector against tongue injury).

“It engages the tongue and has components set in the jaw or back molars that hold the device in place,” said Ashlyn Sanders, NeuroVice’s founder and CEO in a phone interview. “Imagine sticking your tongue out and putting it in a receptacle to cover it.”

The idea came from Sanders’ personal experience. Seizures associated with a neurological defect called a Chiara malformation forced her to undergo emergency surgery and temporarily drop out of grad school. But even after the procedure, her seizures didn’t go away.

“Unfortunately, as a result of the Chiari malformation, I live with residual neurologic effects, which include refractory seizures,” said Sanders. “I have tongue biting at times and a lot of drooling.”

Sanders began working on the device in 2015, soon after she graduated from Duke with a master’s in Bioethics and Science Policy. She was surprised that no one had developed a device to help mitigate these side effects. To make matters worse, there’s a common myth that inserting a spoon or other object into the mouth during a seizure can protect the tongue. However, the Epilepsy Foundation warns you should never put anything in a seizure victim’s mouth.

“We’re trying to change the conversation around this diagnosis,” said Sanders. “Spoons, towels or athletic mouth guards are either too bulky or too penetrable to the strong compressive forces of the jaw. They’re a choking hazard because they’re easily dislodged.”

NeuroVice’s PATI device would be strong, secure and contain absorbent materials to handle saliva. People at risk for seizures would keep it handy and place it in their mouth if they feel one coming on.

“Patients have a good handle on when they’re going to have a seizure,” said Sanders. “There’s a kind of aura or sensation. They get really sweaty or light-headed, and that alerts them they’re about to have a seizure.”

Like many startups, NeuroVice needs to raise money to get their prototype to the next level. The company is now competing for a grant from the New England Pediatric Device Consortium, talking to VCs and pursuing other avenues.

Sanders understands the difficulties of developing a new device from start to finish. She hopes that, at some point, a more established device company will partner with NeuroVice to help get the product to patients. She estimates around 1.5 million Americans could benefit from the PATI. These numbers motivate Sanders, and have put other big plans on the back burner.

“I fell into being an entrepreneur,” she said, “but my ultimate goal is to go to med school and become a neurologist.”

Photo: Zametelov, Getty Images 

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