Keith Thompson, MD

Keith P. Thompson is an internationally recognized ophthalmologist, refractive surgeon and successful health-tech entrepreneur.  He was a member of the cornea faculty at the Emory Eye Center from 1991-2004 where he was Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Emory University School of Medicine and head of the EmoryVision Center that he co-founded in 1993.  Dr. Thompson was born in Newport News, Virginia, in 1959 and raised near Houston. He completed his undergraduate education at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas and earned his Medical Degree with honors from Southwestern Medical School in Dallas where he was elected to AOA as a third year student.

Following an internship in internal medicine, Dr. Thompson completed his Ophthalmology Residency at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, where he developed a research interest laser vision surgery and published the first study on the safety of the excimer laser for corneal surgery in 1988.  He completed a two year NIH-sponsored research fellowship studying corneal healing following excimer laser surgery and biomaterials for synthetic corneal lenses at the Emory Eye Center and the Yerkes Primate Research Center in Atlanta.  As a research fellow, he co-developed a new vision testing system with research colleagues at Harvard and MIT in Boston.  Dr. Thompson then completed a clinical fellowship in cornea and anterior segment surgery at the Emory University Eye Center prior to joining the Emory faculty as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology in 1991.   Backed by venture capital, Thompson co-founded and led the Emory Vision Center, one of the first laser vision centers of excellence in the United States, and grew the business to provide a successful exit for its investors.

Dr. Thompson has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts, has been issued ten patents on ophthalmic technologies, and has lectured at scientific meetings throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.  Dr. Thompson is a past member of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the Editorial Board of the Journal of Refractive and Corneal Surgery, and Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Recently, Dr. Thompson co-founded HealthDigital.ai, an AI-virtual care platform that enables comprehensive eye exams to be delivered remotely to patients in primary care clinics and other healthcare facilities.

Dr. Thompson and his former wife, Dr. Georgia H. Thompson MD, have three daughters: Kristina, born in 1989, Katherine, born in 1992, and Kandace, born in 1996.  Dr. Thompson is a pilot with commercial, instrument, and turbine ratings.