Episode #5
Mustafa Al-Adhami: Diagnosing a UTI and the Right Antibiotic in One Hour | Stories in Life Sciences
Most UTIs are treated with a best-guess antibiotic and a two-day wait for the culture. In this episode of Stories in Life Sciences by MedAxis AI, Christopher Wilson sits down with Mustafa Al-Adhami, Founder and CEO of Astek Diagnostics, to explore how his device confirms the infection and names the right antibiotic in about an hour directly from a patient sample. Mustafa is a refugee turned mechanical engineering PhD and Y Combinator founder who started Astek Diagnostics after his grandfather nearly died from a mistreated UTI. Astek's platform tracks whether bacteria are still metabolizing to deliver a UTI diagnosis and antibiotic recommendation faster than any existing standard of care, with plans to extend the platform to blood testing through a mosquito microfluidic chip. We cover: How Astek's device confirms a UTI and identifies the right antibiotic in about one hour Why roughly half of initial UTI screens come back as false positives The link between untreated UTIs and sepsis and why speed of diagnosis matters How the technology works by tracking whether bacteria are still metabolizing The FDA De Novo pathway and the strategy of starting with neurogenic bladder patients Building a founding team off a single LinkedIn message Extending the platform to blood testing including the mosquito microfluidic chip Fundraising lessons for early-stage life sciences founders Who this is for: founders, operators, and investors in diagnostics, MedTech, and life sciences, and anyone following antimicrobial resistance and the future of rapid infection testing. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Mustafa Al-Adhami and his journey 02:06 From refugee to biotech founder 04:45 The story behind Astek Diagnostics 06:17 Current challenges in UTI diagnosis 08:37 How the device detects bacterial respiration 11:09 Integration into hospital workflow 12:29 Regulatory pathway and FDA strategy 15:08 Next steps and funding 16:59 Building a team from scratch 22:54 Advice for early-stage founders 23:44 Long-term vision and platform potential 28:08 The story of the device's name and personal touch Guest: Mustafa Al-Adhami, Founder and CEO, Astek Diagnostics https://astekdx.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/maladhami https://www.linkedin.com/company/astek-diagnostics Host: Christopher Wilson, Founder, MedAxis AI www.medaxisai.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-wilson-medaxisai https://www.linkedin.com/company/medaxisai
