SYDNEY, Australia—The International Myopia Institute (IMI) has launched the third series of their highly cited White Papers in a special issue of the top peer-reviewed Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (IOVS) journal. The International Myopia Institute was formed following the WHO-BHVI meeting on myopia and high myopia in 2015, due to the need to address the increasing levels of myopia and high myopia worldwide that can lead to potentially sight threatening complications for an individual, and the massive global burden associated with lost productivity.

It was founded by Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) and is supported by Zeiss, EssilorLuxottica, CooperVision, Hoya, Thea, Alcon and Oculus.

Dr. Nina Tahhan, program director of the International Myopia Institute, and director of clinical research at BHVI, said, “Year on year, there are a growing number of myopia management options available, and it can be difficult for practicing clinicians to keep pace with the evolving evidence base. The white papers bring together leading experts around the world to provide consensus and summarise the latest evidence to make it easily accessible and readily available for practicing clinicians to implement in practice. The IMI are incredibly committed to developing and disseminating the latest evidence-based research for all to benefit from.”

The first two series of IMI white papers were released in 2019 and 2021 respectively, and they provided consensus and clinical management guidance for myopia development and management. The third series of white papers highlight evidence around onset, progression, and management of myopia in less typical young adult and pediatric populations, the role of the choroid in eye growth control and myopia management, and a detailed anatomical paper on non-pathological ocular tissue changes observed in moderate to high myopia.
 
In addition, the series includes a report on the results of an international survey of practitioners on myopia management attitudes and strategies in clinical practice and a digest which updates the latest evidence from topics covered in previous editions.

Professor James Wolffsohn, IMI chief scientific officer stated, “We have brought together the leading experts in myopia research from across the globe once again to ensure that clinicians have the latest information on myopia control to provide the best service to their patients, to highlight areas where more research is required and to guide the ophthalmic industry in the development of products needed for the future."

The 2023 IMI White Papers can be accessed for free at iovs.arvojournals.org and at myopiainstitute.org/imi-white-papers/. The IMI 2019 and 2021 White Papers can be accessed for free at IOVS. Series One is available at https://iovs.arvojournals.org/issues.aspx?issueid=937872#issueid=937872 and Series Two at https://myopiainstitute.org/imi-white-papers/. 

The IMI 2019 and 2021 clinical summaries in many international languages are available at myopiainstitute.org, with 2023 IMI White Paper clinical summaries to be released soon.