Midjourney Reveals Full-Body Ultrasound Scanner
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- Midjourney revealed The Midjourney Scanner, an ultrasound-based full-body scanner built in partnership with Butterfly Network using 40 Ultrasound-on-Chip imaging modules per system
- Holz said the device aims for MRI-comparable image quality by sending ultrasonic waves through the body from every angle via a ring of underwater transducers, with each scan taking about 60 seconds and a dozen people scanned so far
- The system pairs its sensor ring with two petaflops of processing power, and job postings describe the company's goal as launching "the world's first full-body ultrasound CT scanner"
- Midjourney plans to open a spa in San Francisco's Union Square by end of 2027, housing 10 scanners alongside a gym, saunas, cold plunges, and hot tub-equipped scanning rooms
- The company is initially focused on "body composition maps" that don't require the same FDA clearance as diagnostic imaging, and says users will be able to share their scan library with doctors or AI health tools
- The Verge's reporter noted the connection between Midjourney's AI image generation tech and the medical effort remains unclear, "beyond an alternative business for otherwise-unused AI compute"
Why it matters: Midjourney — best known for AI image generation — is moving into consumer medical hardware with a ~60-second ultrasound body scan priced as a spa experience, not a clinical visit. The Butterfly Network partnership and 10-unit Union Square rollout by end of 2027 give the project real supply-chain teeth, while the current FDA-light "body composition" framing keeps it out of regulated diagnostics for now.
