NURL Health Launches Wearable to Detect Veteran Relapse Before It Happens

NURL Health's biometric wristband gives treatment facilities real-time relapse risk alerts for patients with substance use disorders — no smartphone required.

BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, May 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the nation prepares to honor its fallen service members this Memorial Day, NURL Health has launched a HIPAA-compliant wearable platform that detects early physiological warning signals of addiction relapse before a patient or clinician can observe any outward signs.

According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2.8 million Veterans — 14 percent of all U.S. Veterans — reported having at least one substance use disorder in the past year. For the majority, treatment never arrives. By the time a clinician observes warning signs, the window to intervene has already closed.

The wrist-worn NURL device monitors real-time biometrics continuously: heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep patterns and other physiological signals. The data runs through an addiction-specific AI trained to recognize each patient's personal baseline. When the system detects deviation consistent with early relapse risk, it sends an immediate alert to care staff. No smartphone is required, making it suitable for the phone-restricted environments common in residential and inpatient treatment settings.

"Relapse doesn't announce itself," said Max Weisman, CEO and founder of NURL Health, who served as an Airborne Ranger-qualified Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army. "By the time a patient self-reports or a clinician observes warning signs, a critical window has already closed. I've seen that window close. NURL gives treatment teams the information they need hours or even days earlier."

The science behind the approach is grounded in decades of biometric research. Paul J. Zak, PhD, neuroscientist and founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, who completed post-doctoral training in neuroimaging at Harvard University, said the platform reflects what the data has long shown. "The body registers stress and craving states well before the conscious mind acknowledges them. That measurable window is exactly where early intervention becomes possible," Zak said.

The platform has also drawn attention at the highest levels of the federal government. Michael Parrish, PhD, who served as Chief Acquisition Officer of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, overseeing a $63 billion procurement budget and the nation's largest integrated healthcare system, said the platform addresses a critical gap in veteran addiction care. "The VA has spent decades trying to close the gap between when a veteran starts to struggle and when we can actually reach them," Parrish said. "A system that detects the physiological warning before the veteran does changes the intervention timeline entirely."

Traditional monitoring tools rely on self-report and scheduled clinical observation. Both are retrospective by nature. NURL operates prospectively, flagging physiological patterns that precede relapse rather than confirming it after the fact.

The platform is built exclusively for clinical workflows. Patient-specific baselines replace population averages, and all data remains HIPAA-compliant within the facility's environment. No patient-held device is required.

About NURL Health
NURL Health is an AI wearable platform company focused on addiction recovery. Its biometric monitoring system is designed for treatment facilities seeking to reduce relapse rates through early, data-driven intervention. For more information, visit nurl.health.

Max Weisman
NURL Health
+1 818-635-7667
max@nurl.health

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