Myopia (nearsightedness) most typically develops in the school-age years, and the early age of myopia onset is known to be a powerful predictor of high myopia later in life, which increases the likelihood of a patient developing sight-threatening diseases such as glaucoma, myopic maculopathy, and retinal detachment. Starting treatment early, or even immediately, when myopia is still at a low level, is vital for limiting the overall severity and, thus, consequences.
Currently, most myopia control therapy is designed with the use of contact lenses. However, some parents are hesitant to put their young children into contact lenses. Given that most children are already wearing eyeglasses for myopia correction, a myopia control eyeglasses option will be embraced by parents and practitioners alike.
To further develop myopia management technology using spectacle lenses, a medical device company SightGlass Vision was established in Palo Alto, California. Based on genetic observations, SightGlass Vision has developed a new therapy for myopia management that utilizes a novel and unique mechanism of action based on contrast modulation. While still clear, the lenses work by dampening the amount of visual contrast seen around the periphery of the wearer’s visual field while still allowing the eye to focus on objects ahead.
This new DOT lens therapy has shown very promising initial results in a large, ongoing, randomized controlled clinical trial. The ongoing three-year trial has 256 children aged 6-to-10 years old across 14 trial sites in the United States and Canada. Based on the one-year data, the eyeglasses have the approval to be sold as medical devices in Europe and Canada. Safety results from the 12-month analysis showed no serious adverse events and a reduction in myopia progression of over 59 percent.
Researchers anticipate regulatory approval in the United States in about 1-2 years. “We look forward to bringing to market a powerful and unique mechanism of action that we are confident will benefit children who live with myopia and are at risk from its vision-threatening complications,” said SightGlass’ founder and CEO, Thomas Chalberg. “Our novel spectacle lenses designed to slow myopia progression in children have been hailed as a revolutionary innovation in the field of myopia management.”
References:
http://reviewofmm.com/novel-dot-lenses-from-sightglass-vision-show-great-promise-to-fight-myopia/
https://newsroom.uw.edu/news/glasses-stop-myopia-are-successful-multi-site-trial
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/sightglass-vision-nets-european-approval-for-eyeglasses-to-reduce-childhood-myopia