December 5, 2024

Welcome to the New Thomas Kevill Advanced Vitreoretinal Imaging Lab 

A cutting-edge research space for retinal diseases has been established by and named after a grateful patient who made three donations in the past two years to support the work of Dr. Varun Chaudhary and his team at the Hamilton Regional Eye Institute 

For the third time in two years, Thomas Kevill has made a six-figure gift to support the work of the Hamilton Regional Eye Institute at the King Campus of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. Back in 2022, Mr. Kevill had just recovered from a surgery to repair a detached retina. Pleased with the restoration of his sight, Mr. Kevill struck up a conversation with his surgeon, now city-wide chief of Ophthalmology, Dr. Varun Chaudhary.  

During that chat, Mr. Kevill learned more about the care provided at the Eye Institute, and the research pursued there, too. He also learned that diagnostic imaging equipment for ophthalmology isn’t something that’s funded by the operating dollars hospitals receive from the province. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Kevill donated $200,000 to help the Hospital purchase an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Scanner: the “gold standard” in retinal imaging devices.  

“When I learned from Dr. Chaudhary that the Eye Institute needed an upgraded OCT scanner to be eligible for clinical trials that would help patients, like me, I didn’t hesitate to give back to the Hospital that restored my vision,” said Mr. Kevill at the time. 

With this new tech, St. Joe’s was able to help patients like Thomas who are experiencing retinal issues, while also engaging in international research studies aimed at helping those experiencing vision loss due to macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.  

Mr. Kevill continued to stay abreast of Dr. Chaudhary’s vision research, and one year later he made a $250,000 donation to help establish a new Vitreoretinal Imaging Lab to create a dedicated space for vision research.  

In the summer of 2024, Mr. Kevill made his latest (and largest) gift – a new $600,000 donation. The donation will fund new equipment as well as a dedicated research staff member to help further cement St. Joe’s leadership in retinal disease patient care, research and innovation. In recognition of more than $1,000,000 in cumulative support, the new research laboratory was named the Thomas Kevill Advanced Vitreoretinal Imaging Lab.  

When asked what happens inside the lab, Dr. Chaudhary says, “Our team is hard at work analyzing volumes of highly-detailed retinal imaging to identify important biomarkers that can predict disease progression and patient responses to treatment. The ultimate goal is to enhance patient outcomes for those living with Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Retinopathy.”