Visual performance of spectacle films utilising opaque, non-refractive features for potential myopia management

Clin Exp Optom. 2026 Feb 4:1-13. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2026.2620554. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A non-refractive approach for potential myopia management is introduced as spectacle films with opaque features, hypothesised to modulate retinal ganglion cell activity away from the baseline state of the eye. Visual performance of these spectacle films is currently unknown.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work is to compare the visual performance of spectacle films with opaque non-refractive features (test), MiYOSMART (control: MS), and single vision (control: SV) lenses.

METHODS: This was a prospective, randomised, unmasked, cross-over study where 37 myopic adults (18-42 years) wore each lens for a minimum of 5 days. Subjective visual performance was assessed with a 1-10 numeric rating scale for clarity of vision, vision at night, vision when walking, and overall vision satisfaction and visual acuity (monocular at 6 m and binocular at 6 m and 40 cm). Willingness-to-purchase, based on vision and myopia efficacy, was assessed with a binary Yes/No response.

RESULTS: Test and SV were rated higher than MS (p ≤ 0.005) for all subjective ratings, while SV was rated higher than test (p ≤ 0.02) for all ratings except vision when walking (p = 0.11). A higher proportion were willing to purchase both test and SV compared to MS based on vision (p ≤ 0.001), with no difference between test and SV (p = 0.20). A higher proportion were willing to purchase SV compared to MS based on myopia efficacy (p = 0.005), with no difference between test and either control (p > 0.06). SV was significantly better than MS for acuity at 40 cm (p = 0.004) with no differences between lenses for other acuity measurements (p > 0.1).

CONCLUSIONS: Test offered better subjective visual performance than MS with higher proportions of participants willing to purchase based on vision. Test offered worse subjective visual performance than SV with no differences in willingness-to-purchase questions. SV offered better visual performance than MS and higher proportions of participants willing to purchase for vision or myopia management.

PMID:41638651 | DOI:10.1080/08164622.2026.2620554