Students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are developing an innovative micro-antenna to focus radiation on tiny tumors in the digestive tract.

The university said there is currently no treatment for tumors in the early stages of cancer when they measure less than 0.19 inches. The new antenna would eliminate the need to wait for the tumors to grow big enough to be treated, and also eliminate the need for invasive surgery.

The micro-antenna would be inserted into the patient’s stomach via an endoscopic ultrasound tube and would allow radiation to be focused on tiny tumors. Development of the technique is expected to be completed within a year, pending funding.

Students Anna Kochnev and Shayke Stern, who collaborated with Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek Medical Center on the project, presented their work at Hebrew University on Monday.

Professors Yuri Feldman and Yaakov Nahmias, who served as mentors for the project, said, “The great opportunity here is one of preventing cancer from getting worse and requiring difficult chemotherapy treatment, which is also costly to the medical system.”