Highly Aspherical Lenslets Effective for Reducing Myopia Progression in Children

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 26, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets (HAL) are safe and effective for reducing myopia progression in children, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Jason Shen, Ph.D., from Essilor International in Dallas, and colleagues examined the 24-month safety and effectiveness of HAL spectacle lenses compared with single-vision spectacle lenses (SVL) in U.S. children aged 6 to 12 years with myopia. A total of 159 participants were randomly assigned to HAL or SVL in a 1:1 ratio.

Overall, 135 participants completed the 24-month assessment. The baseline mean cycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction was −2.21 and −2.05 diopters in the HAL and SVL groups, respectively; baseline mean axial length was 24.26 and 24.32 mm, respectively. The researchers found that at 24 months, the adjusted mean myopia progression was −0.25 and −0.90 in the HAL and SVL groups, respectively, representing a 71 percent relative reduction. The adjusted mean axial elongation was 0.21 and 0.45 in the HAL and SVL groups, respectively, representing a 53 percent relative reduction. The groups had equivalent best-corrected visual acuity. Ocular adverse events occurred in 11.7 and 14.6 percent of participants in the HAL and SVL groups, respectively; none were serious or related to the lenses. There were 19 subjective symptom reports in the HAL group and 25 in the SVL group.

“These data align with previous international studies, supporting the effectiveness of this technology in a U.S. cohort,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to Essilor International, which funded the study; one author reported patents pending.

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