Scientists from the Vision Cooperative Research Centre (Vision CRC) in Australia have announced that myopia, or short-sightedness, can be controlled with new technology. This ground breaking discovery was based on research conducted by Vision CRC partners – the University of Houston College of Optometry and the Brien Holden Vision Institute, located at the University of New South Wales.
Myopia affects over 1.6 billion people globally, with two thirds of those affected living in the Asia region. If unchecked, the number is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2020.
In the US there has been an alarming increase in the prevalence of myopia over the last 30 years. The most recent studies (1999-2004) estimate that around 128 million people aged 12 to 54 years are currently affected (approximately 42% of the population). In 1971-72 the estimated prevalence was 25% of the population for people aged between 12 to 54 years.
Successful basic research on the nature and cause of myopia has led to the discovery that the peripheral retinal image plays a major part in stimulating eye growth and myopia. Large scale clinical trials testing both spectacles and contact lenses designed to control the position of the peripheral image and involving over 500 children in China and Australia, have produced promising results.
With myopia, instead of a distant image being focused on the retina, as it needs to be for clear vision, it is focused in front of the retina. Myopia often occurs when children commence school (ages six to seven), and if left undetected the condition progresses and can adversely impact the child's education and social development.
Professor Brien Holden, CEO of the Vision CRC, explained further, "For hundreds of years focusing defects of the eye have been corrected by simply moving the visual image backwards and forwards with spectacle lenses. Professor Earl Smith from the University of Houston College of Optometry, has demonstrated that if we move the central image onto the retina but leave the peripheral image behind the retina, the peripheral image can drive the eye to elongate, causing myopia to increase."
"The beauty of this new technology is that it addresses this problem by bringing the peripheral image forward, onto or even in front of the retina, and at the same time independently positioning the central image on the retina giving clear vision.
"The commercialisation of this technology is a most important outcome for the CRC program because of the potential vision and eye health benefits," Professor Holden said.
Professor Holden announced that the breakthrough technology has been licensed to Carl Zeiss Vision (CZV) and developed into the first spectacle lens of its kind through a joint project with CZV lens designers. This new spectacle lens will be launched under the ZEISS brand name throughout Asia from April of this year.
The Vision CRC has also licensed its myopia control technology to CIBA VISION for contact lens applications.