This technology is a novel specialty soft contact lens that helps align the eyes in children with intermittent exotropia type strabismus, while preventing any adverse myopia progression, offering both vision correction and cosmetic improvement without worsening nearsightedness.
Background: Strabismus, particularly exotropia, is a condition characterized by the misalignment of the eyes, where one or both eyes turn outward. This disorder is especially prevalent in children and can lead to symptoms such as blurry vision, double vision (diplopia), and psychosocial challenges due to cosmetic concerns. Effective management of strabismus is crucial not only for visual function but also for the emotional and social well-being of affected individuals. Traditionally, the field has relied on optical devices like prismatic spectacle lenses and, in some cases, surgical interventions to address the misalignment. However, there remains a significant need for non-invasive, child-friendly solutions that can both improve ocular alignment and minimize the risk of associated complications, such as the progression of myopia. Current approaches to managing exotropia with prismatic spectacle lenses primarily focus on alleviating visual symptoms but fall short in addressing the cosmetic aspect of eye misalignment. When higher-powered spectacle lenses are used to achieve better cosmetic alignment, they often accelerate the progression of myopia, which is a major concern in pediatric patients. While multifocal soft contact lenses have shown promise in slowing myopia progression, these lenses have not been specifically adapted for the therapeutic alignment of the eyes in strabismus cases. As a result, there is a gap in available treatments that can simultaneously address both ocular alignment and myopia control, leaving patients and clinicians with limited and often suboptimal options.
Technology Overview: This technology is a specialty multifocal soft contact lens designed to treat strabismus, with a particular emphasis on exotropia in children. The lens leverages the optical properties of multifocal designs, which are already proven to slow myopia progression, and adapts them to provide therapeutic ocular alignment. Unlike traditional prismatic spectacle lenses that only alleviate symptoms like blur and double vision, this contact lens aims to correct the cosmetic misalignment of the eyes while simultaneously controlling for adverse myopia. The design ensures that therapeutic alignment is achieved without increasing refractive error or accelerating the progression of myopia, addressing a major limitation of current spectacle-based treatments. What differentiates this technology is its dual-action approach, combining the established benefits of myopia control with a new therapeutic application for strabismus. While existing multifocal contact lenses such as MiSight 1 Day and NaturalVue Multifocal 1 Day are used exclusively for myopia management, this solution uniquely modifies and repurposes these designs to address ocular alignment. This innovation fills a critical gap for pediatric patients with exotropia, offering a contact lens-based therapy that improves both visual function and appearance without the adverse side effect of worsening myopia. By extending the utility of multifocal contact lenses to include strabismus therapy, this technology provides a differentiated, non-invasive alternative to traditional spectacle lenses, potentially transforming the standard of care for children with ocular misalignment.
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Advantages: • Provides therapeutic ocular alignment for strabismus, particularly exotropia • Reduces symptoms of eye fatigue (asthenopia) and improves double vision • Reduces myopia progression while treating eye misalignment • Does not increase refractive error or accelerate myopia progression • Improves cosmetic appearance by aligning the eyes • Offers a non-spectacle alternative for strabismus management • Combines myopia control and ocular alignment in a single contact lens • Potentially benefits children with exotropia and similar strabismic conditions
Applications: • Pediatric exotropia treatment • Cosmetic eye alignment correction • Myopia control in strabismus • Non-surgical strabismus management
Intellectual Property Summary: Patent application 63/778,103 filed on 3/26/2025
Stage of Development: 4 The minimum viable product has been manufactured and is being tested and iterated in an upcoming clinical trial pilot study conducted at the Clinical Vision Research Center at the SUNY College of Optometry. IRB review is pending. Major de-risking for safety and efficacy is underway.
Licensing Status: This technology is available for licensing.