A presentation by EssilorLuxottica’s Sephora Miao, in collaboration with ophthalmologist Dr Loren Rose, has highlighted the burden of myopia, and the growing body of research behind Essilor Stellest Gen 1 and the newly launched Essilor Stellest 2.0 lenses.
Ms Miao, an optometrist and Medical and Professional Affairs Director ANZ at EssilorLuxottica, was diagnosed with myopia as a child at a time when few evidence-based interventions were available to slow its progression. Today, she works closely with eye care professionals across the region to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based myopia care. Dr Rose, a Sydney-based paediatric ophthalmologist, is the founder of Myopia Australia, a Clinical Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University, and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra.
Presenting to optometrists, ophthalmologists and orthoptists at the 2026 Australian and New Zealand Strabismus Society (ANZSS), their session brought together optometric and ophthalmological perspectives on myopia management – reinforcing the increasingly important role of collaborative care in addressing the global rise in myopia.
A Growing Public Health Concern
Opening the session, Ms Miao underscored the growing global burden of myopia, citing projections that by 2050, nearly half of the world’s population will be impacted by the condition.
The presentation examined both the immediate and long-term consequences of myopia progression in children. In addition to its impact on vision, learning and overall quality of life, higher levels of myopia are linked to an increased lifetime risk of ocular diseases such as glaucoma, retinal detachment, and myopic macular degeneration.
The session emphasised the importance of proactively managing myopia progression through evidence-based treatment strategies.
Spectacle Lenses as First-Line Management
Dr Rose shared insights into the evolution of myopia management from an ophthalmology perspective and discussed the growing role of spectacle-based interventions as a non-invasive first-line management for children.
The presenters discussed Essilor Stellest, a spectacle-based intervention for myopia management made with Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target (H.A.L.T.) technology – a lens design featuring 1,021 invisible lenslets that create a volume of non-focused light in front of the retina to slow axial elongation and thereby slowing myopia progression.
Ms Miao reviewed the six-year clinical study on Stellest Gen 1. Key findings presented included:
- Essilor Stellest lenses slowed myopia progression by 67% on average over two years,*1 with long term efficacy demonstrated over six years, and effects sustained up to 19 years of age.†
- After the first and second year, the eye growth of nine out of 10 children wearing Essilor Stellest lenses full time was similar or slower than non-myopic children.2
- Over five years, Essilor Stellest lenses save three years of myopia progression and axial elongation on average.‡1,3
- After five years, 9% of children wearing Essilor Stellest lenses had high myopia (≤-6.00D), compared to 38% in the ESVL group.3
- 0% of children fully adapted to wearing Essilor Stellest lenses within three days, with 100% adapted within one week.*1
- No evidence of rebound in myopia progression was observed after switching from Essilor Stellest lenses to single vision lenses.2
The presenters also discussed broader independent evidence on the lens. A 2025 systematic review and network meta-analysis involving more than 12,000 children across 74 studies identified Essilor Stellest to be the most effective spectacle intervention for slowing axial elongation among all spectacle interventions reviewed.4
Stellest 2.0 Launches Across ANZ
The second part of the session focused on Essilor Stellest 2.0, now available across Australia and New Zealand.
Building on the clinical evidence and insights gained from Stellest Gen 1, the optimised lenslet design in Stellest 2.0 features increased mean lenslet power and asphericity, positioning the volume of non-focused light further from the retina and over a wider retinal area.
In a 12-month contralateral crossover clinical trial involving 50 myopic children aged 6 – 10 years, Stellest 2.0 lenses slowed axial elongation more than Stellest Gen 1.5 In this study, each participant wore a Stellest Gen 1 lens in one eye and Stellest 2.0 in the other and switched lens types after six months.
This clinical trial found Stellest 2.0 to be 1.88 times more effective at slowing axial elongation compared to Stellest Gen 1.5 Furthermore, 100% of children were fully adapted within one week and there was no significant difference in distance visual acuity between Gen 1 and 2.0 when looking through the central or lenslet zones.5
Collaboration Across the Eye Care Sector
Outside the lecture sessions, strong engagement at the Stellest stand reflected growing interest across ophthalmology and orthoptics in the latest clinical innovations in evidence-based myopia care.
One of the clearest themes to emerge was that the future of myopia management will increasingly rely on integrated care models, shared clinical education and continued collaboration across the eyecare sector.
As research and innovation continue to evolve, the ANZSS meeting highlighted both the momentum and the collective commitment across eye care professions to elevate the standard of care for children with myopia across Australia and New Zealand.
References
* Compared to single vision lenses, when worn 12 hours per day every day for two consecutive years.
† The long-term efficacy of HAL lenses was evaluated over 6 years in 42 Chinese children aged 8-13 at baseline. Myopia progression and axial elongation outcomes were compared to the 72-month progression of an extrapolated control group based on the initial 2-year control group (Bao et al., JAMA Ophthalmology. 2022; 140(5):472-478). The model predicted 72-month myopia progression using an estimated annual reduction rate in spherical equivalent refraction of 9.7% (Smotherman et al., IOVS. 2023;64(8):811) and an annual reduction rate in axial elongation of 15% (Brennan et al. Optom Vis Sci. 2024;101(8):497–507). (Unpublished results. Presented at BCLA 2025).
‡ The initial 24-month myopia progression and axial elongation of 50 myopic children wearing single vision lenses in the two-year prospective, controlled, randomised, double-masked clinical in Wenzhou China were compared to the 60-month follow-up of 43 children wearing Essilor Stellest lenses.
- Bao J, et al. JAMA ophthalmology. 2022;140(5):472-8; 2. Wong et al. OphthalmicPhysiolOpt. 2024;44(1):206-213; 3. Li X, et al. Eye and Vision. 2025;12, 10. doi:10.1186/s40662-025-00427-3.
- SankaridurgP, Weng R, Naduvilath T. Spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets for slowing myopia: A randomized, double-blind, cross-over clinical trial. Parts of these data were presented as a poster at the Annual Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting, 2022. Am J Ophthalmol. 2023 Mar;247:18-24. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2022.10.021.
- VaggeA, Frattolollo A, Traverso CE et al. Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target (HALT) technology in combination with low-dose atropine to control myopia progression. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2024; 65: 2739–2739.
- Schmidt DC, et al. Efficacy of interventions for myopia control in children: A systematic review with network meta-analyses. ActaOphthalmol. 2025 Apr 11. doi:10.1111/aos.17496. Epub ahead of print.
- Raveendran RN, et al. Effect of increased power andasphericityof highly aspherical lenslets on myopia control efficacy: a contralateral crossover study. Translational Vision Science & Technology. 2025;14(11):9. doi:10.1167/tvst.14.11.9.
