Second-Gen Stellest Lens More Effective in Slowing AL Elongation, Study Shows

Essilor conducted a study to compare the efficacy of the present Stellest lens to that of a second design using lenslets with increased power and asphericity. The results supported a dose-response relationship between the optical characteristics of lenslets and the myopia control efficacy of the lenses. This image from the study shows a comparison of the volume of non-focused light (VoNFL) and distance from the retina achieved by the existing Stellest product (top) and the potential new design (bottom) technologies. Photo: Dr. Damien Paillé/EssilorLuxottica from: Nallour Raveendran, et al. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2025;14(11):9. Click image to enlarge. Although the Stellest myopia control spectacle lens is only just now reaching US optometrists, Essilor is already developing a potential successor made with lenslets that have greater average power and asphericity than the current product. The investigational lens incorporates an enhanced version of the Stellest lens’s highly aspherical lenslet target (HALT) optics, called HALT Max. A report published earlier this month in Translational Vision Science & Technology gives a glimpse of what the company is pursuing for a potential successor product. A company post on LinkedIn refers to the product as Essilor Stellest 2.0.As Essilor researchers describe it in the TVST paper, the novel design “optimizes the optical characteristics of lenslets to create a volume of non-focused light that would be significantly broader and positioned further in front of the retina.” A recent company-funded study comparing the two lenses reported that the HALT Max lens resulted in slower axial elongation in myopic children than the current Stellest lens. Eyes with faster axial growth may especially benefit from the higher-power lenslets, the findings suggest.Conducted at the Essilor R&D Centre in Singapore, the randomized controlled trial involved 50 participants aged six to 10 years. The children were assigned to wear either HALT Max lenses or traditional HALT lenses on alternating eyes for a period of six months, followed by a crossover to the opposite lens type for the next six months. The primary outcome measure was the change in axial length.The study found significant reductions in axial elongation associated with the use of HALT Max lenses compared to the existing HALT lens design. After the first six months, the mean axial elongation was 0.105mm for the HALT lenses and just 0.043mm for HALT Max lenses. The second phase trial results reinforced these findings: cumulative changes in axial length over the year-long study period indicated that HALT Max lenses slowed axial elongation by a cumulative total of 0.107mm compared to HALT lenses.“This confirms the previous dose-response relationship between the optical characteristics of lenslets and the myopia control efficacy of the lenses,” the researchers wrote in the paper. Importantly, the study observed no changes in binocular vision or intervention-related adverse effects during the trial period.Subgroup analyses showed that younger children—those aged 8.5 years and below—benefited particularly from the HALT Max lenses, as did those who experienced faster axial elongation with HALT lenses; these children “tend to have a higher magnitude of difference in axial length change between the two lenses, indicating greater benefit in slowing axial elongation with HALT Max lenses compared with HALT lenses,” the researchers noted.In the discussion portion of their paper, the authors explained the science behind why these higher-power lenses appear to be more effective at slowing axial length elongation in children with myopia. “The contrast theory of myopia suggests that increased contrast in the peripheral retina is associated with axial elongation, thus reducing peripheral retinal contrast may slow myopia progression,” they wrote. “Previous studies have shown that myopia control lenses with lenslet designs, like lenses with HALT technology, decrease image quality in the peripheral retina. The higher power and asphericity of lenslets in lenses with HALT Max technology may have further reduced peripheral retinal image quality, which could have contributed to the greater effect on slowing axial elongation compared to lenses with HALT technology.” This study had several limitations; for one, cycloplegia wasn’t performed to assess myopia progression since the study’s primary outcome was axial elongation. Another notable constraint is the lack of a washout period. Washout periods are standard in crossover clinical trials and allow time for any effects of the previous treatment to dissipate before introducing the alternate treatment. Without this period, the researchers indicate that a true treatment effect in phase two cannot be fully assessed.In conclusion, the study authors wrote, “The relationship between the optical characteristics of lenslets and axial elongation offers a new avenue for developing more effective myopia control lenses.”No timeframe was given for future milestones in product development for Essilor Stellest 2.0 or any anticipated commercialization of the concept.Click here for the journal source. Nallour Raveendran R, Ong WS, Wong YL, et al. Effect of increased power and asphericity of highly aspherical lenslets on myopia control efficacy: A contralateral crossover study. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2025;14(11):9. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.