For the first time, a new spectacle lens technology has demonstrated the ability to halt myopia progression in children over an average of 12 months, in what researchers are describing as a major step forward in the fight against one of the world’s fastest-growing vision health challenges.

Unveiled at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2026 Annual Meeting in Denver, in the United States, the MiyoSmart iQ lens from HOYA Vision Care builds on the company’s established defocus incorporated multiple segments (DIMS) technology, introducing a new “triple enhanced design” aimed at increasing treatment efficacy.

The results of a randomised controlled trial involving 196 myopic children aged four to 12 in Hong Kong showed that those wearing MiyoSmart iQ lenses experienced no myopia progression on average over a 12-month period.1

In children aged four to 12 years, the mean change in spherical equivalent refractive error (SER) over a period of 12 months was +0.046D in the MiyoSmart iQ group, as compared to –0.534D for the single vision (SV) spectacle lens control group, corresponding to a myopia control efficacy of over 100%.2 Mean change in axial length (AL) over a 12-month period was 0.075 mm for the MiyoSmart iQ group, as compared to 0.346 mm for the SV group. As such, MiyoSmart iQ reduced excessive axial elongation to levels below or comparable to emmetropic eye growth.2

In myopic children aged four to six years, MiyoSmart iQ demonstrated a myopia control efficacy of 65% in SER and 44% in AL over a 12-month period (mean changes in SER −0.220D and −0.635D, mean changes in AL 0.266 mm and 0.475 mm, in MiyoSmart iQ and SV groups, respectively).2 These results set a new benchmark for myopia control efficacy at such young ages, HOYA Vision Care said.

Axial elongation, the key driver of myopia progression, was reduced to levels comparable with children without refractive error, marking what HOYA describes as the highest efficacy reported to date for spectacle lenses using DIMS technology.

For the Australia and New Zealand market, where demand for evidence-based myopia management solutions continues to grow, the findings signal what could be a significant shift in clinical expectations.

RAISING THE BAR IN MYOPIA CONTROL

In children aged seven to 12, the study reported more than 100% average myopia control efficacy and a 94% reduction in axial elongation.

Younger children, traditionally more difficult to manage, also showed strong outcomes. Among those aged four to six, the lenses achieved 65% efficacy in refractive error control and 44% reduction in axial elongation over 12 months.

Crucially, the study is the first to demonstrate efficacy of DIMS-based spectacle lenses in children as young as four years old.

Speaking during a media briefing, Professor Chi-ho To, Visiting Chair Professor of Experimental Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said he was “very excited” to share the results, which exceeded expectations.

Prof To, one of the inventors of the original DIMS lens, reported that there was “hardly any myopia progression, or you can say there’s no myopia growth in this group” over the study period.

He said when the data were stratified by age group, the four to six year olds using MiyoSmart IQ progressed only by 0.2D, which was about one third of the group wearing single vision lenses. “And when we look at the older group of seven to nine or the 10 to 12 years olds… there’s hardly any myopia progression. If anything, there is some hyperopic growth, so there’s some reversal in terms of the refraction. So, this result was very surprising to the team… we couldn’t quite believe it, but this is a really, really good result.

The axial length data reinforced the finding, with growth described as “very, very small” compared with both single vision and earlier-generation lens designs.

“The key finding is that clearly there is no myopia progressions on all the average data from all the age groups from four to 12 in the first 12 months. And the data is so good that we are going to continue to observe it for another year,” Prof To said.

Prof To said when his research team first started thinking about reversal of myopia as a possibility, “people say you’re crazy… but now if you look at the data, reversal is no longer fantasy or dream”.

“It is possible. I think the question is how much reversal that we can do.”

A GENERATIONAL SHIFT

HOYA Vision Care CEO John Goltermann Lassen positioned the findings as a significant milestone.

“At HOYA Vision Care, we imagine a world without myopia. This milestone is truly a generational leap in myopia control and represents an important step toward the vision we are committed to shaping for children around the world. Until today, no trial conducted on a myopia control spectacle lens has shown this level of effectiveness in controlling the condition,” he said.

The company’s broader ambition reflects the scale of the global challenge. Myopia is projected to affect around half of the world’s population by 2050, up from approximately one-third today.3

Early intervention remains a key focus for clinicians, given the cumulative nature of myopia progression and its association with sight-threatening complications later in life.

Professor Serge Resnikoff, Chair of the International Myopia Institute, warned that delaying action could have generational consequences.

“Unaddressed myopia today becomes irreversible vision loss tomorrow. If we delay, this epidemic will define the next generation,” he said.

He said it was important to ensure the product was approved, “made available and also be accessible”, describing access affordability as a very important issue that “needs to be addressed through reimbursement and health insurance systems”.

“And we need actually to work with governments and policymakers, because individual level actions are important, but it also requires system level actions, such as, for example, integrating vision screening, particularly for very young children,” Prof Resnikoff said.

INNOVATION BUILT ON DIMS

MiyoSmart iQ represents the latest evolution of HOYA’s DIMS platform, which has been widely adopted since the original MiyoSmart lens launched in 2018.

The new design 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.

According to HOYA’s research and development team, the approach is grounded in emerging evidence around the role of the near-peripheral retina in regulating eye growth.

During the media briefing, the development was described as the result of 15 years of innovative research and collaboration between HOYA and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

“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,” Prof To said.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

For eye care professionals, the demonstration of efficacy in children as young as four opens the door to earlier intervention.

Dr Natalia Vlasak, Global Head of Medical and Scientific Affairs at HOYA Vision Care, highlighted the significance of this shift.

“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.

The study also reported high compliance among participants, with children successfully adapting to full-day wear of the lenses.

ACCESS AND NEXT STEPS

While the results are likely to generate strong interest globally, HOYA has not yet confirmed specific rollout timelines for individual markets, including Australia and New Zealand.

However, the company indicated that further details on availability will be released in the coming months.

MiyoSmart lenses are already in use in more than 50 countries, with over 15 million lenses purchased since launch.

As further data is presented at ARVO and beyond, attention will turn to long-term outcomes and real-world performance. For now, the 12-month results suggest that the long-held goal of halting – even reversing – myopia may be closer than previously thought.

References available at mivision.com.au.