Of all the eye conditions out there, myopia or nearsightedness doesn’t seem like a big deal. Just wear corrective lenses and a person has close to 20/20 vision. However, people with myopia are at greater risk for a detached retina. Also, persons with severe nearsightedness (more than 6 diopters of myopia) are at high risk of developing glaucoma and cataracts. Researchers are studying ways to slow the progression of myopia and there are now lenses do just that.
BLINK Study
Researchers at the University of Houston College of Optometry and Ohio State University have found that when children with myopia wear high-add-power multifocal contact lenses, the progression of their myopia slows, and the treatment effect continues even after older children stop wearing the lenses. This research was funded by the National Eye Institute and was part of the BLINK (Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids) Study.
Scientists in the lab of David Berntsen, O.D., Ph.D., FAAO, Golden-Golden Professor of Optometry and chair of Clinical Sciences at the University of Houston College of Optometry, reported that wearing multifocal contact lenses led to biological changes linked to slowed eye growth. This is important since most kids develop myopia when their eyes grow too long from the front to the back. This type of growth causes light to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it, resulting in blurred distance vision.
In particular, the researchers found that the choroid thickens slightly in children wearing the multifocal contact lenses. The choroid is a layer of blood vessels that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the retina. This suggests that the choroid may be involved in regulating eye grown in those wearing the multifocal contact lenses.
The BLINK Study is the longest longitudinal report of choroidal changes in children with myopia wearing single-vision and multifocal contact lenses. These findings were reported in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.
Lenses Designed to Slow Myopia
The BLINK Study sounds great. Still, what else is out there that can stop the progression of myopia? Tim Gawne, PhD, and Thomas Norton, PhD, professor emeritus, both researchers at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry received a patent for a lens design that may help slow the progression of myopia in children.
This lens modifies the chromatic structure of light in a way that may influence how the eye grows during childhood. The design resulted from long-term research into how the eye determines whether images are in or out of focus. During childhood and young adulthood, the eye does this in a process called emmetropization. When that process fails, the eye may elongate excessively, leading to myopia.
Gawne’s lab wanted to find the specific visual signals that the eye uses to judge focus. By understanding these cues, researchers hope to develop therapies that can slow or prevent the progression of myopia. Their lenses represent one approach to adjusting those visual cues.
“A patent creates the opportunity to move an idea into application,” Gawne said. “With patent protection in place, companies are more willing to invest the resources needed to further develop the technology and conduct clinical trials. Without that protection, it would be difficult to attract the support needed to move it forward.”
Like many scientific discoveries, more work is needed. Still, these projects show what can happen when people don’t accept the status quo. By asking what can be done to slow the progression of myopia, the BLINK study and work at the UAB School of Optometry developed ways to slow the myopia and possibly reverse it. Thanks to the work of these researchers, one day those who have myopia won’t have wear corrective lenses for the long-term.
Sources:
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/myopia-nearsightedness
https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2025/june/06172025-berntsen-blink-choroid.php