Urinary Tract infections, or UTIs, affect millions worldwide, driving sepsis, antibiotic overuse, and microbial resistance. Current diagnostics rely on either slow lab cultures or unreliable dipsticks, and often lead to delayed or unnecessary treatment. Llusern’s Lodestar DX changes that: a point-of-care test that detects 96% of key UTI pathogens in just 35 minutes, no lab required.

In this episode I’m joined by Emma Hayhurst who shares her journey into diagnostics, Llusern’s mission, and the emergence of Wales as a biotech hub with a growing life sciences sector fueling local innovation. We discuss UTI prevalence, diagnostic gaps, and how rapid, accurate testing can transform patient care and antimicrobial stewardship. 

02:14               Meet Emma Hayhurst

04:37               Introducing Llusern Scientific

07:21               Collaboration between Llusern and the academy

08:50               The life science ecosystem in Wales

12:10               Urinary tract infections (UTIs)

15:45               UTI patient demographics

16:54               Health impacts of UTIs: sepsis, antibiotic resistance, and more

19:01               Existing UTI diagnostic options and their shortcomings

24:41               Llusern’s Lodestar DX

29:03               A point-of-care test, not a lab test

31:44               Applications beyond UTIs

36:03               Looking forward at Llusern

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To dive deeper into the topic: 

• Life sciences in Wales: biotechs in the scene in 2025
• Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance with Fast Molecular Diagnostics
• Ultra-Fast Diagnostics Could Transform Sexual Health