Kubota Vision Provides Update on Kubota Glasses—Wearable Device for Myopia Control
Kubota Vision announced that the company achieved a milestone by completing a first spectacle-style wearable prototype based on Kubota Glasses technology.
Kubota Vision conducted a clinical study in early 2020 with an electronic tabletop optical projection device that embodied Kubota Glasses technology. The results of the study demonstrated that axial length decreases with the application of projected myopically-defocused images in the test eye compared to the control eye, which has not been reported in the literature. The company also completed a successful proof-of-concept (POC) clinical study to validate the concept of a wearable myopia-control device based on Kubota Glasses technology in August 2020. Based on these results, the company has completed the first spectacle-style wearable prototype based on Kubota Glasses technology.
Kubota Vision continues to advance its program. Further clinical studies will be conducted to verify the changes in axial length induced by myopically-defocused virtual image projection over a longer period of time. The company is also working on product design improvements and plans additional clinical studies for regulatory approvals.
“It is always a challenge to replicate the results and performance of a larger device in a smaller device. However, with our experts around the world collaborating and applying the experience, knowledge and skills gained through our PBOS (miniature OCT) device being developed with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), we have been successful in advancing the value in this myopia control device as well,” Ryo Kubota, MD, PhD, Chairman, President and CEO of Kubota Vision Inc., said in a company news release. “Our commitment to treat patients around the world drives our continued efforts, and it is our goal to bring our products to them as quickly as possible.”
About Kubota Glasses Technology
Kubota Glasses technology works to reduce the increase in axial length associated with myopia by projecting myopically-defocused virtual images generated using micro-LEDS on the peripheral visual field to actively stimulate the retina. Passive stimulation using myopic defocus is already in use in the US with a contact lens, “MiSight 1 day” by CooperVision, which is FDA approved to slow the progression of myopia. This product, which uses multifocal contact lens technology, passively stimulates the entire peripheral retina with light myopically defocused by the non-central power of the contact lens. Kubota Glasses technology leverages nanotechnology in its electronic glasses-based device and seeks to reduce the progression of myopia by actively stimulating the retina for shorter periods while maintaining high-quality central vision and not affecting daily activities.