Eyeball-shaping contact lenses safe for kids

Custom-made contact lenses that slow the progression of myopia – or nearsightedness – by encouraging the eyeballs of growing children to assume a normal shape can be highly effective, according to researchers in China.

The myopic eyeball is not round like the eyeballs of people with normal vision, and the technique, called orthokeratology or "Ortho-K" could be compared to using orthodontic devices that encourage straightening of kids' crooked teeth.