Results from a randomised controlled trial presented at the ARVO 2026 annual meeting in Denver suggest a new spectacle lens design may halt myopia progression in most children over 12 months, according to investigators from HOYA Vision Care and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The study evaluated MiYOSMART iQ lenses, based on Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (D.I.M.S.) technology, in 196 myopic children aged 4–12 years in Hong Kong. Researchers reported that children wearing the lenses showed no average myopia progression over one year, while axial elongation was “below or comparable” to that seen in non-myopic eyes.
According to the investigators, nine out of 10 children experienced no clinically relevant myopia progression – defined as a change in spherical equivalent refraction (SER) worse than –0.50D – over the study period.
The findings were described by the study authors as the highest efficacy reported to date for D.I.M.S.-based spectacle lenses.
Trial outcomes
Across all participants aged 4–12 years, the mean change in SER at 12 months was +0.046D in the MiYOSMART iQ group compared with –0.534D in a single-vision control group, corresponding to a reported efficacy of more than 100%, according to the study abstract. Mean axial length increased by 0.075 mm in the treatment group versus 0.346 mm in controls.
In younger children aged 4–6 years, the lenses achieved a reported 65% reduction in SER progression and 44% reduction in axial elongation compared with controls. The authors said this represents the first time D.I.M.S.-based spectacle lenses have demonstrated efficacy in children as young as four.
Among children aged 7–12 years, the study reported over 100% efficacy in SER and a 94% reduction in axial elongation.
HOYA Vision Care CEO John Goltermann Lassen said in a statement that “no trial conducted on a myopia control spectacle lens has shown this level of effectiveness,” describing the results as “a generational leap in myopia control.”
Dr Natalia Vlasak, the company’s global head of medical and scientific affairs, said the findings show efficacy “across childhood stages” and, for the first time, in early-onset myopia.
“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,” she said.
Professor Chi-ho To, a visiting chair professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said the lens design builds on years of research into how the eye responds to myopic defocus.
“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.”
Myopia is a growing global health issue, projected to affect around half the world’s population by 2050. Early intervention is considered important to reduce the risk of high myopia and associated ocular complications later in life.
HOYA noted that MiYOSMART iQ lenses are not approved or available in all markets, including the United States.
