Axial Length

myopia control Specialist

What Is Axial Length?

Axial length is the distance from the front of the eye to the back. Generally, the more elongated the eye is, the more myopia the person has. There is a greater risk of secondary diseases associated with high myopia, such as:

Retinal detachment
Myopic maculopathy
Glaucoma
Cataracts

The average axial length growth of a child aged 6-14 years old is between 0.1mm to 0.2mm. When a child has myopia, this eye growth can continue at an accelerated rate of more than 0.3mm/year until age 10-11. Progressive myopia in pre-teens and teenagers happens when there is a growth of more than 0.2mm/year. Axial length growth has been found to accelerate in the year prior to myopia onset, and continues thereafter.

Axial Length Consult

Axial length measurement is considered the gold standard for determining myopia progression in children. For myopia treatments such as ortho-keratology and compounded atropine eye drops, relying solely on the refraction outcome can sometimes lead to misjudgement of whether someone has truly had myopia progression.

For this reason we have acquired a new state-of-the-art equipment, an Optical Biometer, which measures ocular axial length. This ensures that our Optometrists have access to the newest technology and are able to provide the best clinical care based on the latest research for all our young myopic patients.

The Optical Biometer program not only allows the axial length measurement to be taken, but also generates a report for patients and parents to compare the effectiveness of their customized myopia control treatment, compared to no treatment, over time. By using this machine, our Optometrists are now better able to accurately determine the effectiveness of your customized myopia treatment, and whether additional myopia control treatment is required.