Menicon Bloom™ : Expert Talks

The myopia crisis has become a major global healthcare challenge and Menicon is committed to tackling it head on through Menicon Bloom™, its innovative myopia management system.

The objectives of Menicon Bloom™ are to help practitioners monitor and treat patients effectively over their lifetime, to help patients be compliant with their myopia treatment, to promote safe and hygienic lens wear and to offer a wide range of CE-approved products for the control of myopia.

In France, a panel of experts was convened to help us dive into myopia, its epidemiology, its prevention, its treatments and of course, Menicon Bloom™. Let us see their insights!

 

Myopia in children: epidemiological data, screening and prevention (excerpts by Dr. Françoise ERNOUD, CHU Huriez Lille (FR))

“Myopia projection figures speak for themselves; many young patients will be potentially affected by myopia in the coming years. It is estimated that half of the world's population will suffer from myopia by 2050¹, despite the apparent disparities between Asia and Europe” writes Dr. Ernoud.

It is important to detect and address myopia as early as possible in children. Dr. Ernoud tells us: “It is our responsibility to prevent and screen!” 

For screening, she suggests “to start the screening of myopia when the children are around 9–12 months if one or both their parents are nearsighted, if they are born prematurely, if they are of Asian ethnicity, or if they experience excessive falling or delayed walking. 

Otherwise, at school age, when a child shows a decline in school results, asthenopia or headache, an examination under cycloplegia is imperative.”

To increase prevention, she recommends that “information on myopia should be spread to doctors, pediatricians, and other child health professionals, and to teachers.” Having a clear, informed discussion with parents on the best course of action to implement is essential but we also need to act on it. Dr. Ernoud provides the following three preventative measures: 

 

“1. Do not over-correct or under-correct myopic correction (always use cycloplegia during examination) and regularly re-evaluate the correction."	"2. Promote exposure to natural light. Ideally, at least 2 hours a day. Do not use blue light filters."	"3. Fight against excessive use of tablets, smartphones, or screens, teach children to take breaks (20 seconds every 20 minutes) and advise them not to use a screen closer than a reading distance of about 30 centimeters.”

The different optical corrections for myopia control (excerpts by Dr. Louisette Bloise)

 

We have come to understand that a lot of factors can affect the development of myopia in children and that treating myopia is a combination of awareness, prevention, and the right choice of optical correction for the patient. An assessment shared by Dr. Bloise: “there is no age requirement for starting myopia control management and age isn’t the only criteria to consider when choosing the right optical correction for young patients.”

As for the optical corrections currently available for patients, she gives us the following options: “orthokeratology or night lenses, defocusing soft lenses and more recently myopia control glasses. They have in common the same optical principle namely the creation of a myopic defocus in the middle retinal periphery.”

Choosing the right option for a young patient is always a tough decision and cannot depend “solely on age, it also depends on habits, the preferred equipment, the needs of children (and their sports activities) and parents, the presence or not of internal astigmatism and its strength (ortho-K is not indicated if the [residual] astigmatism is ≥ 1 diopter)” writes by Dr. Bloise. 

 

 

Testimony by Dr. Jean-Philippe COLLIOT: “What will Menicon Bloom™ bring me?”

 

“Excellent initiative that is Menicon Bloom™, under which different myopia control options are brought together.

I see a benefit primarily in the lenses of course with complementary rigid and soft lenses [Menicon Bloom Night™ and Menicon Bloom Day™, respectively] that can pique the interest of both informed contactologists and those who do not prescribe ortho-K lenses. Additionally, having optimized LCPs under the same visual helps avoid untimely switches which are too often observed during dispensing.

I also see a benefit in the revamped Menicon Bloom™ Easyfit software:

	1. The software was already extraordinarily powerful in its first version and will improve thanks to its availability in cyberspace as a cloud-based system.
	2. Its ability to show differential topographies in both modes (axial and tangential) will save time.
	3. Its educational concept for both the professional (beginner or not) and for explaining to parents the value of treating, showing prognostic diagrams, and defining visit schedules is particularly innovative.

 

The mandatory e-learning provided to become fully involved in myopia control is essential to get familiar with all facets of the strategy. Without it, it is like having a smartphone while only knowing how to make a phone call.

But the Menicon Bloom™ app will bring the most benefit because it will intrigue both parents and children with its interactive side. Instead of the written documentation usually provided and often discarded from the outset, it is a playful way of involving parents who understand the stakes, who will find the answers to their questions and who will be able to engage in a real dialogue with their children. It will also engage the children, who through the regular check-in of the app will be keen to achieve the treatment objectives set.

The patient feedback is integrated into Menicon Bloom™ Easyfit and is available in a summary and quick-to-read format prior to consultation visits which allows practitioners to engage in valuable patient conversations more effectively!

Like all my colleagues interested in myopia control, I look forward to this important development.”

 

*Disclaimer: This article has been translated and edited from original articles in French. Menicon Co.,Ltd is not responsible of the clinical statements cited by any of the testimonials on this article. 

 

 

Reference

1. Holden, Brien A et al. “Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050.” Ophthalmology vol. 123,5 (2016): 1036-42