New Myopia Control Method Using Optical Films Performs Well in Stage 1 Trial

Over a six-month period, children aged six to 14 wearing STOP kit lens overlays had significantly slower myopia progression in terms of changes in axial length and cycloplegic spherical equivalent compared to those wearing single vision lenses and showed favorable results vs. existing anti-myopia glasses. Photo: Fedtke C, et al. Ophthalmol. August 7, 2025. Click image to enlarge. Doctors outside the US who are engaged in myopia control efforts have come to rely on so-called anti-myopia glasses, which induce peripheral defocus to interrupt axial elongation signalling. Those practicing in America are anticipating the eventual arrival of such products, which come in a variety of designs from different manufacturers. All, however, are likely to be quite expensive, setting up a worrisome income-based inequity in access to this promising therapy, as myopia control interventions entail high out-of-pocket expenses for parents.A proposed new approach to combat this involves the use of spectacle films, called spatio-temporal optical phase (STOP) kits, intended to create a dynamic optical signal that reduces myopia progression while maintaining efficacy long-term. By applying these films to regular single vision lenses, they could also offer a more cost-effective alternative to current myopia treatments. Think of it as akin to a Fresnel prism—a simple, cheap, stick-on overlay.Researchers recently conducted a prospective, double-masked, randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacy of STOP kits in slowing myopia progression against that of conventional single vision glasses. The study was conducted across two sites in China from December 2023 to February 2025. A total of 160 children aged between six and 14 years who exhibited myopia between -0.75D and -5.00D were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of three groups: STOP Kit 1, STOP Kit 2 or the control group (single vision spectacles without optical films). While both kits included two spectacle pairs, the only difference between STOP Kit 1 and STOP Kit 2 was the optical design of the second pair.After six months of treatment, the results demonstrated that each STOP kit design slowed the progression of myopia, both in terms of slowing axial length growth and change in cycloplegic spherical equivalent. Specifically, the axial length change in participants wearing STOP Kit 1 was an average of 0.08mm, while those with Kit 2 experienced a change of 0.10mm, compared to a change of 0.17mm in the control group. As for cycloplegic spherical equivalent, Kit 1 and Kit 2 showed changes of -0.19D and -0.21D, respectively, while controls showed greater changes than both STOP groups (-0.32D). Treatment effects were found to be consistent across both eyes among those wearing the optical films, as well as across all ages (six to 14 years). One interesting finding noted by the researchers in their paper for the Ophthalmology journal was the “sex-based difference in refractive response to STOP Kit 1”, where girls showed significantly greater myopic progression (more negative cycloplegic spherical equivalent) than boys, which they note could suggest a potential interaction between sex and certain optical designs. The authors wrote, “If this finding is not a statistical anomaly without clinical relevance, it warrants further investigation in future studies, as it may have implications for personalized myopia management approaches.”The researchers also compared the STOP kits with other established myopia management interventions, specifically highly aspherical lenslets (HAL), defocus incorporated multiple segments (DIMS) and cylindrical annular refractive element (CARE) lenses. They found that both kit versions demonstrated mean axial length changes that aligned with those from the DIMS-2, CARE, CARE S and HAL studies, while being less than those observed with CARE-A and greater than those from DIMS-1. “These findings suggest that the spatio-temporal variation created with the S.T.O.P optical film’s larger optical elements with azimuthally varying power distribution, non-rotationally symmetric arrangement and weekly swapping of spectacles, achieved similar six-month efficacy compared to other lenses used in myopia control featuring more but smaller spherical or highly aspherical lenslets, or cylindrical annular refractive elements,” the researchers wrote in their paper. In conclusion, the authors argue that this novel approach to slowing myopia progression in children aged six to 14, “using larger but fewer optical elements in a non-rotationally symmetric arrangement with spatio-temporal variation through weekly spectacle swapping, provides efficacy comparable to existing interventions while maintaining acceptable visual performance and high wearer satisfaction.” They add, “Data from the ongoing evaluation of static vs dynamic arms (Stage 3), when available, would not only offer longer-term data on the efficacy but also provide more conclusive data if spatio-temporal variation is the answer to neural adaptation and moderation of efficacy over time.”Click here for the journal source. Fedtke C, Chen Z, Tilia D, et al. STOP kit for myopia control: Stage 1 results from a randomized controlled clinical trial in Chinese children. Ophthalmol. August 7, 2025. [Epub ahead of print]. 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.