Half a Million Patients a Year and No Good Options. Until Now with Dr. Lucy O'Keeffe

Half a Million Patients a Year and No Good Options. Until Now with Dr. Lucy O'Keeffe

From The Crux of Medtech by The Crux of Medtech

May 29, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

Dr. Lucy O'Keeffe discusses the innovations in treating tricuspid regurgitation and the challenges of fundraising and clinical validation in medtech.

In this episode, your host Jordan Burgin sits down with Dr. Lucy O'Keeffe, CEO and Co-Founder of CroíValve, for the first ever in-person recording of the Crux of Cardio. Lucy explains why the tricuspid valve was once considered the "forgotten valve", how her Dublin-based team is building a device that sits between repair and replacement, and what it really takes to raise €60 million and navigate clinical validation as a first-time founder in structural heart. Key Topics: Why the tricuspid valve was overlooked for decades and what changed CroíValve's "adaptive co-optation" approach and how it differs from clip and replacement technologies Clinical validation: early European data, device updates, and the path to FDA and CE mark Fundraising as a first-time founder in Ireland's medtech ecosystem Building a team culture that retains talent and creates future founders Related Insights: Why Ireland has become a launchpad for medtech startups The role of Enterprise Ireland and angel syndicates in early-stage medtech funding Why a dual US/Europe regulatory strategy still matters in the MDR era Core Challenges: Tricuspid regurgitation affects 3.6% of the over-65…

People in this episode

Host: Jordan Burgin

Guest: Dr. Lucy O'Keeffe

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CroíValve

Places: Ireland, Dublin

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