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Novel diffractive lenses fabricated with LIRIC technology demonstrate the ability to correct, neutralize, or reverse the eye's longitudinal chromatic aberration, a key optical cue implicated in myopia progression

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Clerio Vision, Inc., a developer of next-generation laser-based vision correction platforms, announced that its research team will present data at the 2026 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting demonstrating the world's first soft contact lens capable of correcting and reversing the eye's longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA). The presentation will take place May 3–7 at the ARVO Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

The study, titled "Diffractive contact lenses for modifying ocular longitudinal chromatic aberration," was authored by Len Zheleznyak, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Clerio Vision, and Chang Liu of the University of Rochester Center for Visual Science. The work represents a significant milestone: while numerous studies have identified LCA as a critical cue guiding eye growth, until now, there has been no practical means of manipulating this cue in a wearable optic.

A Missing Piece in Myopia Control

Longitudinal chromatic aberration is the eye's natural tendency to focus different wavelengths of light at slightly different distances. This is similar to a prism splitting white light into a spectrum. The eye does this on a microscopic scale, and the resulting color separation provides the visual system with a powerful signal about whether images are focused in front of or behind the retina. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that this chromatic signal plays a central role in guiding childhood eye growth.

Animal studies conducted by Dr. Tim Gawne and colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as human studies on choroidal thickness by Dr. Frank Schaeffel at the University of Tübingen in Germany, have demonstrated that reversing LCA may slow myopia progression. However, until Clerio's breakthrough, there has been no practical way to translate these laboratory findings into a wearable contact lens.

LIRIC: Turning Theory into a Wearable Lens

Using its proprietary LIRIC (Laser-Induced Refractive Index Change) technology, Clerio's team designed and fabricated custom diffractive phase profiles written directly into silicone hydrogel contact lenses using a calibrated femtosecond laser system. The resulting lenses harness the physics of diffraction to generate precisely controlled chromatic effects that counteract the eye's native LCA.

Lenses were produced at four diffractive power levels over a 5.0 mm optical zone and tested across visible wavelengths ranging from 470 to 700 nm. The results demonstrated that the negative chromatic dispersion of the diffractive lenses directly counteracts the eye's positive LCA. Critically, the 3.0 diopter design was shown to neutralize the eye's native LCA, while the 6.0 diopter design fully reversed its sign. Measured optical performance closely matched theoretical predictions, confirming the precision and tunability of the LIRIC platform.

"This is the first demonstration of a soft contact lens that can correct and reverse the eye's longitudinal chromatic aberration," said Dr. Len Zheleznyak, Chief Scientific Officer of Clerio Vision. "Many studies have shown that LCA is an important cue for eye growth, but until now, there has not been a practical way to implement it in a wearable device. While our current study focuses on optical metrology, the next step is to demonstrate the efficacy of myopia control in a clinical study."

A Platform for the Future of Myopia Management

With the global prevalence of myopia projected to affect approximately half the world's population by 2050, the need for new and effective interventions has never been more urgent. The ability to precisely tune LCA in a soft contact lens opens a new avenue for myopia control grounded in the fundamental biology of how the eye regulates its own growth.

"Clerio's LIRIC technology is the only platform capable of writing these complex diffractive optical profiles into a standard soft contact lens," said Alex Zapesochny, CEO of Clerio Vision. "This presentation at ARVO marks a pivotal step in our myopia control program. We are translating decades of fundamental chromatic aberration research into a practical therapeutic tool."

The research was supported in part by NSF STTR Phase I (NSF/IIP 1549700) and NSF STTR Phase II (NSF/IIP 1738506) grants.

About Clerio Vision

Clerio Vision is developing a breakthrough laser technology platform to treat vision issues. The company's proprietary LIRIC technology modifies the refractive index of existing lens materials, enabling the non-invasive correction of refractive errors and the creation of advanced optical designs for presbyopia, myopia, and higher-order aberration correction. Learn more at .

Media Contact

Mikael Totterman, Clerio Vision, Inc., 1 6172167881, [email protected],

SOURCE Clerio Vision, Inc.