Frequently Asked Questions

What is AquaBIT?

AquaBIT is being developed to acquire multi-frequency electrical measurements around the body in a controlled water environment and reconstruct them into three-dimensional conductivity maps for oncology research.

Is AquaBIT a CT or MRI scanner?

No. AquaBIT does not use ionising X-rays or powerful magnetic fields. It measures electrical responses. Any comparison with CT, MRI or ultrasound would be as a research reference standard, not evidence that AquaBIT can replace them.

Why is water used?

Water can provide a shared conductive interface between the body and a surrounding electrode array. The programme will test whether this improves coupling consistency, angular sampling and repeatability compared with conventional arrangements.

Is the patient’s head under water?

No. The head, eyes, nose and mouth must remain fully above water throughout any AquaBIT examination. Controlled filling, drainage, patient support and emergency access are fundamental design requirements.

Does the electrical current hurt?

The intended system uses low-amplitude alternating currents designed to remain within applicable medical electrical-safety limits. The integrated device must still undergo formal verification and safety testing.

Can AquaBIT diagnose cancer?

Not currently. AquaBIT is not approved to diagnose cancer, select treatment or manage patients. Its first oncology task is to investigate signal detectability, repeatability and correlation with accepted reference standards.

What is the first oncology application?

The initial hypothesis concerns repeatable treatment-response research in breast and other accessible solid tumours, using within-patient longitudinal measurement alongside established imaging and pathology.

How long will a scan take?

A final acquisition time has not been validated. Scan duration will depend on the number of electrodes, frequencies, measurement paths, safety checks and reconstruction requirements. AquaBIT should not advertise a target time as achieved performance.

What role does artificial intelligence play?

AI may support signal-quality assessment, reconstruction, segmentation and longitudinal comparison. It is not intended to operate as an autonomous cancer-diagnosis system.

Are the website images real scans?

Most current images are concept illustrations or computational representations. The Evidence page labels their status explicitly. Clinical scan results will not be claimed unless they come from appropriately governed research.

When will AquaBIT be clinically available?

No clinical launch date is claimed. Progress depends on computational, phantom, prototype, safety, ethics, regulatory and clinical evidence gates.

How can an organisation collaborate?

Oncology centres, engineers, medical physicists, computational-imaging teams and medical-device partners can review the Partners & Collaboration page and contact AquaBIT with a defined evidence question.