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An end to myopia progression?

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An end to myopia progression?


In global first, new spectacle lens technology halts myopia progression in children

 

At 12 months, children aged 4–12 wearing MiYOSMART iQ spectacle lenses showed no myopia progression on average and eye elongation below or comparable to non-myopic eyes, representing the highest myopia-control efficacy reported to date with D.I.M.S. Technology-based spectacle lenses.1,2

  • For the first time with D.I.M.S. Technology-based spectacle lenses, MiYOSMART iQ demonstrated myopia control efficacy in children as young as 4 years old, representing a major milestone in early-onset myopia control.1–4
  • In children aged 7–12 years, MiYOSMART iQ resulted in an average myopia control efficacy of over 100% and achieved 94% average reduction in axial elongation, raising the bar in the fight against progressive myopia.1,3

 


Groundbreaking clinical trial results from HOYA Vision Care and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University demonstrated that a new myopia control spectacle lens design is able to halt clinically relevant myopia progression* for 9 out of 10 children over the first year of wear. The results, presented at the ARVO 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver, represent the highest myopia-control efficacy results reported to date in children wearing Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (D.I.M.S.) Technology-based spectacle lenses.

The randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) demonstrated that, of 196 schoolchildren in Hong Kong aged 4–12 with myopia who completed the RCT, those who wore MiYOSMART iQ spectacle lenses showed no myopia progression on average at 12 months.1 Axial elongation, which includes the excessive growth of the eye that drives myopia progression in children,5 was below or comparable to emmetropes – those without refractive errors – in children wearing MiYOSMART iQ spectacle lenses.1

For the first time with D.I.M.S. Technology-based spectacle lenses, myopia control efficacy was demonstrated in children as young as 4, representing a major milestone in early-onset myopia control.1

“At HOYA Vision Care, we imagine a world without myopia. This milestone is truly a generational leap in myopia control and represents an important step toward the vision we are committed to shaping for children around the world. Until today, no trial conducted on a myopia control spectacle lens has shown this level of effectiveness in controlling the condition,” said John Goltermann Lassen, CEO of HOYA Vision Care. “Our mission is to improve life through vision by continuously raising the standard of care in myopia control, ensuring that thoughtful innovation and thorough craftsmanship translate into meaningful clinical benefits for children and support Eye Care Professionals’ practice.”

Short-sightedness, or myopia, is a fast-growing global health concern that billions of people live with. It is predicted to affect around half of the world’s population by 2050 – up from around a third of people today.6 Initiating effective myopia control early in life reduces the impact of years of cumulative myopia progression, thereby greatly lowering the risk of developing high myopia and associated sight-threatening diseases later in life.7

“Unaddressed myopia today becomes irreversible vision loss tomorrow. If we delay, this epidemic will define the next generation,” said Prof. Serge Resnikoff, Chair of the International Myopia Institute at an exclusive press conference on April 22.

In children aged 4–12 years, the mean change in spherical equivalent refractive error (SER) over a period of 12 months was +0.046D in the MiYOSMART iQ group, as compared to –0.534D for the single vision (SV) spectacle lens control group, corresponding to a myopia control efficacy of over 100%.1,3 Mean change in axial length (AL) over a 12-month period was 0.075 mm for the MiYOSMART iQ group, as compared to 0.346 mm for the SV group. As such, MiYOSMART iQ reduced excessive axial elongation to levels below or comparable to emmetropic eye growth.1–3

In myopic children aged 4–6 years, MiYOSMART iQ demonstrated a myopia control efficacy of 65% in SER and 44% in AL over a 12-month period (mean changes in SER −0.220D and −0.635D, mean changes in AL 0.266 mm and 0.475 mm, in MiYOSMART iQ and SV groups, respectively).1,3,4 These results set a new benchmark for myopia control efficacy at such young ages.

“Beyond stopping myopia progression on average over a period of 12 months and across childhood stages, these findings demonstrate – for the first time with myopia control spectacle lenses – efficacy in children from 4 years of age with early-onset myopia, enabling us to control it at a critical time when it is progressing rapidly and the risk of long-term impact is highest,”8  said Dr. Natalia Vlasak, HOYA Vision Care’s Global Head of Medical and Scientific Affairs.

For older children aged 7–12 years old, as typically included in most of the RCTs on myopia control solutions, MiYOSMART iQ demonstrated myopia control efficacy of over 100% in SER and of 94% in AL over a 12-month period (mean changes in SER +0.155D and −0.511D; mean changes in AL 0.019 mm and 0.310 mm, in MiYOSMART iQ and SV groups, respectively).3

Children of all ages studied demonstrated a high level of compliance to daily, all-day wear of MiYOSMART iQ, resulting in proper myopia control.1,3

MiYOSMART iQ is the most advanced evolution of MiYOSMART, a technology backed by more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications.9 The new spectacle lens design builds on D.I.M.S. Technology with Triple Enhanced Design (TED), featuring three key enhancements that drive greater myopia control effectiveness in children:3

  • Defocus segments positioned closer to the geometric center of the spectacle lens, intended to continuously activate the near-peripheral retina – also called the retinal ‘sweet spot’12 – identified by several studies as highly responsive to the myopic defocus signal that regulates myopia progression.10–12
  • Higher defocus power, delivering a stronger myopic defocus signal.
  • An extended treatment zone, providing more extensive coverage of the child’s peripheral visual field even with larger frames.

“MiYOSMART iQ is the result of years of dedicated research and collaboration between scientists, clinicians and optical engineers. The Triple Enhanced Design was built on a deep understanding of how the eye responds to a myopic defocus signal, and a determination to push the boundaries of what spectacle lenses could achieve. To see those years of work translate into results like these is profoundly rewarding,” said Prof. Chi-ho To, Visiting Chair Professor of Experimental Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Footnotes

* Clinically relevant myopia progression is defined as SER change strictly superior to -0.50D over 12 months of wear. ​

 

References 

  1. Tse DYY, et al. Myopia Control Efficacy of Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments Spectacle Lens with Triple Enhanced Design: a 12-month randomized controlled trial. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2026 Annual Meeting, May 3–7, 2026. Abstract 2523. Available from: https://eppro02.ativ.me/web/index.php?page=IntHtml&project=ARVO26&id=4486941. (Accessed: 16.04.2026).
  2. Kaymak H, et al. Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments Spectacle Lenses with Triple Enhanced Design Normalize and Neutralize Axial Elongation in Myopic Children: A Randomized Three-Arm Trial Using AMMC Physiological Growth Criteria. Abstract OD72, ARVO Annual Meeting 2026, Denver, USA. Available from: https://eppro02.ativ.me/web/index.php?page=IntHtml&project=ARVO26&id=4490935. Accessed: (16.04.2026).
  3. HOYA data on file. HOYA MiYOSMART iQ spectacle lens clinical outcomes. 04/2026.
  4. Tse DYY, et al. Myopia Control Efficacy of Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments Triple Enhanced Design Spectacle Lenses. The 41st Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress, February 5–8, 2026. Abstract 205567. Available from: https://2026.apaophth.org/abstract/?code=205567. (Accessed: 16.04.2026)
  5. Carr BJ, et al. The Science Behind Myopia. 2017. In: Webvision: The Organization of the Retina and Visual System [Internet]. Salt Lake City (UT). University of Utah Health Sciences Center. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470669/. (Accessed: 16.04.2026).
  6. Holden BA, et al. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016;123:1036–42.
  7. Bullimore MA, et al. The Risks and Benefits of Myopia Control. Ophthalmology. 2021;128(11):1561–79.
  8. CLEERE Study Group. Myopia Progression as a Function of Sex, Age, and Ethnicity. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2021:62(10);36-36.
  9. HOYA Vision Care. Confidence Through Evidence. 2026. Available from: https://www.hoyavision.com/vision-products/miyosmart/evidences/. (Accessed: 16.04.2026)
  10. Smith III EL, et al. Eccentricity-dependent effects of simultaneous competing defocus on emmetropization in infant rhesus monkeys. Vision Res. 2020;177:32–40.
  11. Panorgias A, et al. Retinal responses to simulated optical blur using a novel dead leaves ERG stimulus. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2021;62(10):1.
  12. Swiatczak B, et al. Retinal “sweet spot” for myopia treatment. Sci Rep. 2024;14:26773.
  13. HOYA data on file. MiYOSMART spectacle lens commercial data. 04/2026.
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