Essilor Stellest spectacle lenses have been named among Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2026, receiving recognition in the Health and Wellness category for their role in childhood myopia management.
The lenses join 300 inventions selected for this year’s list, which spans fields including health care, artificial intelligence, and green energy.1 A further 100 innovations received special mentions.
Published annually for more than a quarter of a century, Time’s Best Inventions issue highlights influential new products and ideas. Nominations are drawn from its editors and correspondents worldwide, alongside an online application process. Contenders are assessed for originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.
Sephora Miao, Head of Medical and Professional Affairs ANZ, said the recognition highlighted the importance of innovation in children’s vision care.
The lenses join 300 inventions selected for this year’s list, which spans fields including health care, artificial intelligence, and green energy
“This recognition is a reminder of why innovation in children’s vision care matters,” she said.
“Essilor Stellest brings meaningful, evidence-based innovation to childhood myopia management, helping eye care professionals and families act earlier and support children’s vision over the long term.”
The announcement follows the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) September 2025 marketing authorisation of Stellest lenses to correct myopia, with or without astigmatism, and slow its progression in children aged six to 12 years at the start of treatment. They were the first spectacle lenses authorised by the FDA to slow childhood myopia progression.2
The FDA’s assessment included two-year clinical trial data showing a 71% reduction in myopia progression and a 53% reduction in axial elongation compared with single vision lenses. These results relate to the US trial underpinning that authorisation.2
Stellest lenses were launched in Australia and New Zealand in October 2022.
Arnaud Ribadeau Dumas, Head of Product and Marketing Optical Categories at EssilorLuxottica, described Time’s recognition as an acknowledgement of the company’s innovation capabilities.
“With Essilor Stellest, we are bringing families evidence-based innovation they can trust, helping them act early on childhood myopia and support children’s visual future, today and over the long term,” he said.
References
- Time. The Best Inventions of 2026. Available at: time.com/collection/best-inventions/2026/ [accessed Oct 2026].
- Food and Drug Administration. FDA Authorizes marketing of first eyeglass lenses to slow progression of paediatric myopia. Sep 2025. Available at: fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-marketing-first-eyeglass-lenses-slow-progression-pediatric-myopia [accessed Oct 2026].
