Midjourney Unveils Full-Body Ultrasound Scanner, Plans San Francisco Spa

Midjourney CEO David Holz unveiled the company's first hardware product, the Midjourney Scanner, a full-body ultrasound device that uses a ring of sensors to capture vertical slices of the body. The scanner, developed in partnership with Butterfly Network, aims to provide image quality comparable to MRI machines, according to Holz.

The scanner uses 40 Butterfly Ultrasound-on-Chip imaging modules per system, according to a job listing cited by The Verge. The scanning process takes about 60 seconds, with the user stepping onto a platform that descends into water through a ring of thousands of transducers. The system combines those sensors with two petaflops of processing power.

From Cat Images to Medical Imaging

Holz acknowledged the shift from Midjourney's core business of AI image generation to medical hardware, calling it a departure from the "cat pictures" the company is known for. The scanner analyzes the composition of muscle, fat, bone, and organs, and Holz said he envisions using it daily to track how his body responds to diet and exercise changes.

Key details about the Midjourney Scanner:

• About a dozen people have been scanned so far, Holz said.
• The scanner uses ultrasonic waves from multiple angles to create detailed 3D images.
• Midjourney Medical describes the process as stepping into a "shallow pool of golden light" and descending through a ring of underwater sensors.
• The company aims to "build and launch the world's first full-body ultrasound CT scanner," according to job listings.
• Medical applications will require FDA clearances, Holz noted.

Midjourney Spa and Future Plans

Holz plans to open a Midjourney Spa in San Francisco's Union Square before the end of 2027, featuring 10 scanners, a gym, saunas, and cold plunges. The scanning rooms will include hot tubs where visitors enter the water to be scanned. Holz offered to scan attendees' hands at the launch event.

The spa concept represents a broader vision for Midjourney Medical, which Holz described as a "magical spa experience" that could bring preventative scanning to billions. The company's job listings emphasize making scanning "safe, fast, and high fidelity." Holz said the scanner could be used once a year or even daily, though regulatory hurdles remain for medical use.