A Novel Mechanical Flipper for Improving Accommodative Function in Myopic School-Age Children: A Pilot Study
摘要
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel mechanical flipper in improving accommodative function in myopic School-age children, particularly in reducing accommodative lag and observing changes in refractive error. Additionally, the study explored the device’s impact on accommodative amplitude (AA) and binocular accommodative facility (BAF).
Methods18 myopic elementary school children in Taiwan were randomly assigned to either the treatment group (n = 10) or the control group (n = 8). The treatment group underwent a 4-week vision training program using the novel mechanical flipper 4 times per week, for 20 min per session, while the control group received no training. Before and after the training, monocular subjective refraction, the fused cross cylinder (FCC) method, the minus-lens-to-blur method, and flipper were used to measure refractive error, accommodative lag, AA, and BAF, respectively.
ResultsAfter training, the treatment group showed significant improvements: accommodative lag decreased from 0.25 ± 0.26 diopter (D) to 0.00 ± 0.29D (p = 0.032), AA increased significantly (OculusDexter, OD: from 9.90 ± 2.50D to 12.55 ± 2.70D, p = 0.005; OculusSinister, OS: from 10.05 ± 3.49D to 12.45 ± 2.39D, p = 0.050), and BAF improved from 10.90 ± 2.77 cycles per minute (cpm) to 16.50 ± 3.60 cpm (p < 0.001). No significant changes were observed in refractive error or in the control group.
ConclusionThe novel mechanical flipper effectively improves accommodative lag, AA, and BAF in myopic children, providing a potential tool for myopia control.