A new spectacle lens has, for the first time, demonstrated the ability to halt myopia progression in children on average over 12 months, in findings being described as a “generational leap” in myopia management.
Revealed at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver,1 the MiyoSmart iQ lens from HOYA Vision Care builds on the company’s defocus incorporated multiple segments (DIMS) technology, introducing a new “Triple Enhanced Design” aimed at increasing treatment efficacy.
The results come from a randomised controlled trial involving 196 myopic children aged four to 12 in Hong Kong.
In children aged seven to 12 years, MiyoSmart iQ resulted in an average myopia control efficacy of over 100% and achieved 94% average reduction in axial elongation. “Axial elongation… was below or comparable to emmetropes – those without refractive errors – in children wearing MiyoSmart iQ spectacle lenses,” HOYA said.2
Crucially, for the first time with DIMS technology-based spectacle lenses, MiyoSmart iQ demonstrated myopia control efficacy in children as young as four years old, representing a major milestone in early-onset myopia control.
Professor Chi-ho To, Visiting Chair Professor of Experimental Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said the results were striking.
“There’s hardly any myopia progression, or you can say there’s no myopia growth in this group,” he said.
He added that the findings suggest a shift in how myopia progression may be managed, noting that “reversal is no longer fantasy or [a] dream”.
The axial length data reinforced the outcome, with growth described as “very, very small” compared with both single vision and earlier-generation lens designs.
This milestone is truly a generational leap in myopia control… until today, no trial conducted on a myopia control spectacle lens has shown this level of effectiveness in controlling the condition
A Generational Leap
HOYA Vision Care CEO John Goltermann Lassen said the results marked a significant milestone.
“This milestone is truly a generational leap in myopia control… until today, no trial conducted on a myopia control spectacle lens has shown this level of effectiveness in controlling the condition,” he said.
Myopia is a growing global health concern, projected to affect around half of the world’s population by 2050.3 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.2
Dr Natalia Vlasak, Global Head of Medical and Scientific Affairs at HOYA Vision Care, said the ability to demonstrate efficacy in younger children was particularly significant.
“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 four 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.
New MiyoSmart iQ Design
The newest evolution of HOYA’s DIMS platform incorporates three key enhancements: repositioning defocus segments closer to the optical centre, increasing defocus power, and expanding the treatment zone to improve peripheral retinal coverage.
While HOYA has not confirmed specific rollout timelines for Australia and New Zealand, the company indicated that availability details will be released in the coming months.
References
- Tse DYY, Hon, Lam CSY 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: eppro02.ativ.me/web/index.php?page=IntHtml&project=ARVO26&id=4486941 (accessed Apr 2026).
- HOYA Vision Care, An end to myopia progression? In global first, new spectacle lens technology halts myopia progression in children (embargoed media release, 5 May 2026).
- Holden BA, Fricke TR, Resnikoff S, et al. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016;123:1036-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.01.006.
