VR headset and eye drops join forces to fight childhood nearsightedness
NCT ID NCT07724210
First seen Jul 24, 2026 · Last updated Jul 24, 2026
Summary
This trial tests whether combining a daily 18-minute virtual reality training session with low-dose atropine eye drops can slow the worsening of nearsightedness in children aged 6 to 12. Participants will also wear special glasses that provide defocus to the peripheral vision. The study compares this triple approach against atropine plus the special glasses alone, tracking changes in eye length and prescription over one year.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- virtual reality-based digital defocus training combined with 0.02% atropine eye drops
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this combination approach could offer a new, non-invasive way to slow myopia progression in children, reducing the need for stronger glasses or future eye problems.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 100 participants, and the added benefit of VR training over atropine alone is unproven. Side effects from atropine may include light sensitivity or blurred near vision.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
-
Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
-
Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
6 to 12 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Children and adolescents aged 6 to 12 years with bilateral myopia; the right eye is selected as the study eye. * Cycloplegic refraction performed within 1 month prior to baseline visit meets the following ocular refractive criteria: spherical equivalent refraction ranging from -1.00 D to -6.00 D (inclusive), astigmatism ≤ 2.00 D, and anisometropia ≤ 1.00 D. * Bilateral best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ≥ 0.8. * Participants in the experimental group agree to complete 18-minute daily VR accommodative defocus training at home (1 hour before bedtime), combined with one drop of 0.02% atropine ophthalmic solution instilled in each eye every night before bedtime, and wear fully corrected multi-zone positive optical defocus spectacles for no less than 10 hours per day throughout the study period. Participants in the control group agree to instill one drop of 0.02% atropine ophthalmic solution in each eye every night before bedtime and wear fully corrected multi-zone positive optical defocus spectacles for no less than 10 hours per day throughout the study period. All participants shall promptly notify the investigator if they are unable to comply with the above study regimens. * Able to complete all scheduled follow-up examinations at baseline, Month 1, Month 6, and Month 12 as required. * The participant and their legal guardian fully understand the study protocol, agree to participate in the clinical trial, and provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Received any myopia control treatment within 6 months prior to screening, including but not limited to atropine eye drops, orthokeratology lenses, and phototherapy instruments. * Received flip lens training within 6 months prior to screening. * Diagnosed with ocular diseases including strabismus, amblyopia, nystagmus, ocular tumors, congenital glaucoma, congenital cataract, or other organic eye disorders. * Have a history of ocular surgery or ocular trauma, including corneal transplantation, corneal suture surgery, pediatric cataract surgery, and pediatric glaucoma surgery. * Have systemic diseases that may affect ocular health, including Marfan syndrome, Marchesani syndrome, Down syndrome, craniocerebral trauma, epilepsy, spastic paralysis, and other related systemic disorders. * Concurrent participation in any other interventional clinical trial.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Myopia are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Diagnosis Technology and Equipment for Optic Nerve-Related Eye Diseases, National Engineering Research Center for Ophthalmology
Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100730, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can AI protect Kids' eyesight where eye doctors are scarce?
- Two toric lenses go head to head in vision test
- Eye scans as a window to the body: study probes retinal imaging across diseases
- Lens showdown: which contact lens wins in dim light?
- Myopia glasses may keep working even after kids take them off
- Can glasses that slow nearsightedness also reshape a Child's astigmatism?