Amid mounting concern about China's rising rate of myopia among children and adolescents, the vision care unit at Zeiss is escalating its innovative strength to provide better solutions to managing progressive myopia, a form of near-sightedness that becomes more severe over the years and can lead to high myopia.

"Zeiss is the industrial pioneer in myopia management and is committed to driving myopia research and treatment efforts ahead," said Peng Wei, managing director of Zeiss Vision Care China, a world-leading manufacturer of eyeglass lenses and ophthalmic instruments under the German optics giant Zeiss.

The company launched Zeiss MyoVision Ace, a new addition to Zeiss' existing myopia management lens portfolio that addresses especially severe cases of progressive myopia, at the 20th China (Shanghai) International Optics Fair on Thursday.

Zeiss will offer this new solution in China, which is designed to help actively manage progressive myopia and prevent its adverse effects on children aged between six and 12, starting in May. The lenses will be available in a range of material indices and in combination with premium coatings, according to the company.

The product enhancement is based on Zeiss' first peripheral defocus management lens for children, or Zeiss MyoVision, which was launched in 2011.

The optical design of Zeiss MyoVision corrects a person's vision so that the image appears clear at the center, or fovea, and is corrected in the periphery. "For people with progressive myopia, this can slow the longitudinal growth of the eyeball and thus might counteract the progression of short-sightedness in the period studied," said Ouyang Liu, head of R&D Zeiss Vision Care China.

Zeiss demonstrates its new products at the 20th China (Shanghai) International Optics Fair from Thursday to Saturday. CHINA DAILY

Over the past 10 years, more than 3,000 business partners of Zeiss have sold at least 3.6 million pairs of Zeiss MyoVision lenses in China, according to the company.

"So far, Zeiss MyoVision has helped millions of children in China manage the progression of myopia," Peng told reporters. "With the significant amount of work we have accomplished in the field, we can confidently say that we have already made great progress in myopia management and will continue to help children and their parents in the decades to come."

While elevating the amount of defocus in the periphery of retina by the new solution, Peng said the company will continue to research in this field to diversify or provide tailor-made solutions to coping with different myopic situations of children in China.