Myopia Management
Learn about Essilor's best solution to slow down myopia progression in Children
Revised College of Optometrists’ guidance on myopia management
We’ve recently been made aware of new guidance issued to optometrists on myopia management in children. Essilor welcomes the news which was recently published by the College of Optometrists. These new guidelines now fully support optometrists offering myopia management interventions to reduce myopia progression.
Whilst we recommend that you read the publication below in full and follow the guidance, we think there are some poignant points to highlight.
• “The evidence shows that myopia management is effective in reducing myopia progression in children”
• “In very young children it would be more appropriate to offer spectacle-based interventions rather than contact lens-based interventions.”
• “These three intervention strategies [multifocal contact lenses, Ortho-Keratology and spectacle lens designs] have similar levels of efficacy ranging from 40% to 60% reduction in the level of myopia progression over 1-3 years(which equates to a reduction of around 1D less myopia over 3-4 years)¹”
Essilor recently launched Stellest™: a game-changing innovation that slows down myopia progression by 67% on average², compared to single vision lenses, when worn 12 hours a day. The Essilor Stellest™ lens has been designed with an exclusive and pioneering technology called “H.A.L.T.” technology (Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target) by Essilor’s industry-leading research and development teams. It is the culmination of more than 30 years of academic studies, product design, rigorous research efforts, and collaborating with the top research institutes and myopia experts.
The Essilor Stellest™ lens provides myopia correction in all gaze directions through a single vision zone and myopia control zone made with H.A.L.T. technology. The H.A.L.T. technology consists of a constellation of aspherical lenslets spread on 11 rings and was designed to create for the first time, a volume of signal that slows down the elongation of the eye. The power on each ring has been ingeniously determined to guarantee a volume of signal always in front of the retina and following its shape, to achieve consistent myopia slowdown.
Whilst many Essilor customers are already successfully dispensing Stellest™ lenses, we appreciate that others may need additional support and we are fully equipped to help through both our network of skilled Business Development Managers and our training platform, Leonardo which offers virtual learning modules covering not only Essilor Stellest™ but also myopia management in general.
EssilorLuxottica will unveil more about the Essilor Stellest™ lens and the latest insights on myopia control at the International Myopia Conference in Rotterdam, 4th - 6th September 2022.
1.Brennan, N. A., Toubouti, Y. M., Cheng, X., & Bullimore, M. A. (2021). Efficacy in myopia control. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, 83, 100923. 2. Compared to single vision lenses, when worn by children at least 12 hours per day every day. Bao, J., Huang, Y., Li, X., Yang, A., Zhou, F., Wu, J., Wang, C., Li, Y., Lim, E.W., Spiegel, D.P., Drobe, B., Chen, H., 2022. Spectacle Lenses With Aspherical Lenslets for Myopia Control vs Single-Vision Spectacle Lenses: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Ophthalmol. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2022.040).
Myopia cannot jeopardise our children's development any longer!
Myopia is becoming a real public health concern across the world. The number of myopic people is increasing rapidly. The prevalence of high myopia is also expected to rise. The younger a child becomes myopic, the faster he or she will progress, leading to higher risk of developing high myopia later in life. Intervening at the earliest possible time significantly reduces the burden.
A 2015 landmark study from Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) estimates that the prevalence of myopia will increase worldwide, from 34% (2.6 billion) of the global population in 2020, to nearly 50% (5 billion) of the world population by 20501. This means that 1 in 2 people are predicted to have myopia by 2050. As a consequence, the prevalence of high myopia (≤ -5.00D) is also likely to increase from 5.2% (399 million) in 2020, to nearly 10% (1 billion) by the year 2050. These future estimates of myopia suggest that at least one billion people may be potentially at an increased risk of developing permanent vision impairment and blindness at adulthood associated with high myopia.(1)
Indeed, myopia is associated with a risk of ocular conditions such as glaucoma, posterior subcapsular cataracts, retinal detachment and myopic macular degeneration(2)—which can lead to vision impairment or blindness. By slowing progression of myopia, it is likely that we can reduce the potential impact.
The projected increases in myopia and high myopia are widely considered to be driven by environmental factors, principally lifestyle changes resulting from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near work activities, among other factors.
Myopia management now represents an enormous opportunity for eye care practitioners to deliver the highest standards of care, and change the lives of many young children—as we have the tools to proactively detect and manage it.
Essilor Is Committed To Lead The Fight Against Myopia. We are committed to bringing solutions for children to help slow down their myopia progression and prevent high myopia in the future.
