French lens-maker comes up with innovative glasses to curb myopia progression
A leading French lens and glasses frame manufacturer, EssilorLuxottica Wholesale (Thailand), has introduced its latest innovative lens, which claims to help slow down myopia progression, particularly in children, country manager Thissadee Tulyaanukij said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The innovation comes amid an increase in myopia among children and teenagers worldwide as a result of their digital screen device usage, he explained.
According to the WHO, nearly half of the world's 9.5 billion people will suffer from myopia by 2050, with nearly 1 billion people suffering from severe myopia.
There has been an 80% increase in myopia in Asia.
Thissadee highlighted that wearing glasses to help improve one's own vision is insufficient because myopia patients continue to experience an increase in their short-sightedness. These ground realities inspired EssilorLuxottica to explore ways to reduce myopia symptoms, he said.
"The Essilor Stellest lens is the latest generation lens that aims to have a clinical effect in slowing down myopia progression," he explained, emphasising that the lens had no effect on treating or preventing myopia.
According to a study conducted by the company in collaboration with Wenzhou Medical University in China in 2018, wearing Stellest lenses 12 hours per day can help children aged eight to 13 slow down their myopia by 67%.
Mayumi Fang, EssilorLuxottica's education professional services, pointed out that the more short-sighted a child is at a young age, the faster myopia develops. Therefore, having a lens that helps slow down the aggravation would be preferable.
Myopia not only disrupts vision but also increases the risk of future optical problems such as glaucoma, cataract, retinal detachment, and myopic maculopathy compared to people with normal eyesight, she said.
Thissadee said the company is currently training optometrists from its partner glass shops across the country to perform examinations of Stellest lenses.
"The company will issue a certificate so that customers can have dependable services in order to have customised Stellest lens for them. At first, we hope to have 400 stores selling Stellest lenses across the country by the end of this year," he said.
According to EssilorLuxottica Wholesale (Thailand), Thailand's glasses industry is currently worth around 12 billion baht, of which the company controls roughly 40% and is growing at a rate of 10-15% per year.
