Children using Luminopia now have access to hundreds of episodes from the original Pokémon animated series, making amblyopia treatment even more engaging
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Luminopia, Inc., a digital health company pioneering a new class of treatments for neuro-visual disorders, today announced a content licensing deal with The Pokémon Company International to bring hundreds of episodes from the iconic original Pokémon animated series to pediatric amblyopia patients using Luminopia. Pokémon joins Luminopia’s impressive roster of trusted media brands, including Nickelodeon, PBS Kids and Sesame Workshop.
Through this partnership, amblyopia patients will be entertained by even more of their favorite TV characters on their journeys to improve their vision. With Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu along for the ride, kids can watch these beloved icons within a virtual reality (VR) headset, hardly realizing they’re doing their treatment.
As the leading cause of vision loss in children, amblyopia, or lazy eye, affects about one million pediatric patients nationwide. For decades, the standard of care has been eye-patching, which requires patients to cover up a patient’s “good eye” and go through their daily lives with poor vision. This can make learning, playing sports and socializing difficult, often taking an emotional toll on kids and their families.
Luminopia reimagines the outdated approach with an FDA-cleared therapy that allows amblyopia patients to watch TV within a VR headset for one hour a day, six days a week as treatment. Luminopia works differently than eye-patching and doesn’t require a patient to cover up their good eye; instead, it encourages the brain to use both eyes together.
Luminopia was initially cleared by the FDA for patients 4 to 7 years old in 2021. In April of this year, it was cleared for patients aged 8 to 12 years, opening the door for about 400,000 U.S. children affected by the condition in this age range.
“This partnership further expands our carefully curated content library by adding additional family-friendly shows to our platform,” said Scott Xiao, Luminopia’s Co-Founder and CEO. “With our recent FDA label expansion clearance for patients aged 8 to 12 years old, our collaboration with Pokémon helps ensure even more children will have plenty of compelling, age-appropriate content to watch during treatment.”
“At The Pokémon Company International, our mission is to bring the joy of Pokémon to as many fans as possible, including finding innovative and meaningful ways to deliver our beloved lineup of animated entertainment to children,” said Taito Okiura, vice president, marketing and media at The Pokémon Company International. “Partnering with Luminopia allows Pokémon programming to be used in an entirely new and impactful context, and we’re honored to support Luminopia’s efforts treating amblyopia.”
Parents and guardians of children with amblyopia can inquire about Luminopia with their physicians today. It’s being prescribed in top eye institutes, children’s hospitals and private practices across the U.S. For more information, visit www.luminopia.com.
About Luminopia, Inc.
Luminopia, Inc. is pioneering a new class of treatments for significant neuro-visual disorders. Luminopia is committed to creating digital therapeutics that are both rigorously evaluated for FDA approval and genuinely engaging for patients. The company is an Innovation Partner of Boston Children’s Hospital and developed its lead product to improve vision in children with amblyopia, the leading cause of vision loss among children. For more information, visit luminopia.com.
About Luminopia
Luminopia is the first FDA-approved¹ digital therapeutic for a neuro-visual disorder, indicated to improve vision in children with amblyopia. With Luminopia, patients choose TV shows and movies to watch from a broad selection of popular, engaging and educational content. Dual-acting algorithms modify the selected videos in real-time within a virtual reality (VR) headset to promote weaker eye usage and encourage patients’ brains to combine input from both eyes. Unlike conventional treatments like eye-patching, blurring (atropine) eye drops and other digital therapies, which just penalize the stronger eye, Luminopia teaches patients to use both eyes together in a unique, binocular manner.
Luminopia has been cleared by the FDA for children aged 4 to <13 years and validated through a series of clinical trials as well as a real-world registry. The Phase 3 pivotal trial was the first successful, randomized, controlled trial of a novel amblyopia treatment in almost 15 years, and the results were published in Ophthalmology, leading to the initial FDA approval for patients aged 4 to 7 years. Based on the robust real-world evidence collected through the PUPiL Registry, the FDA determined that Luminopia’s safety and efficacy in patients aged 8-12 years is substantially equivalent to its safety and efficacy in patients aged 4 to 7 years, leading to a subsequent label expansion clearance.
For more information, visit luminopia.com.
¹De Novo granted in Oct 2021, 510(k) clearance in Apr 2025 to expand the age range.
Indications for Use for Luminopia
Luminopia is a software-only digital therapeutic designed to be used with commercially available Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) which are compatible with the software application. Luminopia is indicated for improvement in visual acuity in amblyopia patients, aged 4 to <13, associated with anisometropia and/or with mild strabismus, having received treatment instructions (frequency and duration) as prescribed by a trained eye-care professional. Luminopia is intended for both previously treated and untreated patients. Luminopia is intended to be used as an adjunct to full-time refractive correction, such as glasses, which should also be worn under the HMD during Luminopia therapy. Luminopia is intended for prescription use only, in an at-home environment.
About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing and marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.
SOURCE Luminopia