Bournemouth health business uses wearable devices and DNA sequencing

Mark Notton founded Progress Health and Wellness, which uses wearable technology and DNA sequencing to provide clients with personalised health programmes.

He said: “Thanks to developments in our clinical understanding of biochemistry, immunity and genetics we have a much better idea of how the body functions and the actions that we can take to help improve health outcomes.”

• READ MORE: 'Brimming with ideas': The businesses changing lives with health and wellbeing discoveries

The Southbourne-based entrepreneur pointed to a recent study in Nature magazine that assessed the impact of common genetic variants on people’s expected healthy lifespan. It showed a correlation between multi-site chronic pain and shortened lifespan.

“This data shows the importance of considering a person’s unique genetic code when trying to understand their health issues. By leveraging these data sets in combination with cutting edge wearables and remote health monitoring we connect health professionals trained in immune system modulation directly with clients to help improve their health outcomes,” said Mr Notton, who spent seven years in senior roles with Samsung Electronics. 

The pandemic saw a rise in the use of wearable devices to monitor health and wellness. Progress uses a system which integrates with Apple Health, Google Fit and Fitbit to allow health professionals to make recommendations based on this data and update them daily.

“There are many great wearable devices on the market that solve real world problems for consumers, so it was important to implement a system that could be flexible to the needs of the user,” said Mr Notton.

• READ MORE: Looking after mental and physical wellbeing in the cost-of-living crisis

Progress uses multi-million dollar software developed by SelfDecode to analyse 83million genetic variants in a user’s DNA which contribute to health and quality of life. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are then used to produce risk scores and personalised health recommendations.

Mr Norton said: “Whilst our genetic code is fixed at the point of conception, it is not our destiny. How we live our lives, the daily choices that we make on what we eat and drink, the environment around us, and our sleep quality can all have a huge bearing on how our genes are expressed and the outcomes that we see regarding our health.”

Mr Notton said he was especially keen to help single parents and the business offers financial support to those raising children alone while suffering chronic pain.