Date: July 2025.
Source: 19th Biennial Meeting – Child Vision Research Society 2025.
Presenter: Dr Alicia Thompson.
Objective: If a child requires a refractive correction, or intervention such as myopia management, it is imperative to have spectacle frames designed specifically for children in order to achieve stability, comfort and the correct positioning of the lenses. This data informs on facial growth and facial parameters relevant to spectacle frame design in order to achieve an optimal fit and therefore maximising the benefit of any optical correction or intervention at such a critical stage in a child’s development.
Materials and Methods: 309 three dimensional stereophotogrammatic images were acquired from typically developed Chinese children aged from one to sixteen years. Fifteen head and facial parameters specific to spectacle frame design were measured and analysed.
Results: Rates of growth were symmetrical for right and left sides of the face, successively higher for pupillary distance, head width, front to bend and temple width, illustrating how the face develops. The splay and frontal angles and front to bend measurements showed statistically significant differences between male and female results. Parameters that form the nasal bearing surface show very little relative growth, remaining low and flat in appearance thus requiring frame design features that can still achieve comfort, accurate lens positioning and stability for the child.
Conclusions: This data shows how those facial parameters relevant to spectacle frame design alter during growth and what is required to achieve a better fit and therefore maximising the benefit of any optical correction or intervention at such a critical stage in a child’s development.
Article: Application of Facial Anthropometry to Spectacle Frame Design for Chinese Children.
Authors: Alicia Thompson and Robert P Cubbidge. Association of British Dispensing Opticians, UK.