Israeli scientists are exploring the use of highly concentrated light from commercial light bulbs to fight tumors, providing an effective and cheap replacement for laser surgery.

"We used off-the-shelf technology as an alternative to laser beams," said Jeffrey Gordon of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the lead researcher in a new study on the subject.

The study, recently published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, showed that light from an ultra-bright commercial bulb, similar to that used in movie projectors, could be concentrated by a special optical system to burn away healthy tissue in rats.

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"For the first time ever, we were able to kill tissue using the non-laser lamp," Gordon said yesterday.

He said that the tests would be repeated on cancerous tissue in larger animals and eventually in humans in the next few years, in the hope of producing similar results with malignant tumors.

Laser systems currently used to treat tumors can cost up to $100,000. Gordon said that the new light bulb systems could eventually be sold for about $1,000.