Midjourney's 60-second full-body scanner aims to make MRI as casual as a spa visit

Midjourney, best known for its generative AI image tools, is making a dramatic pivot into health hardware with the launch of Midjourney Medical. The centerpiece is a full-body ultrasonic scanner that promises to map the human body in under 60 seconds. The scanner works by lowering a person into water at 2 inches per second, passing through a ring of underwater sensors that emit ultrasonic waves from multiple angles. The reflected sound waves are used to reconstruct a detailed 3D body map down to a fraction of a millimeter. Midjourney has partnered with Butterfly Network, signing a licensing agreement in November 2025 for exclusive rights to their ultrasound-on-a-chip technology. The company describes the experience as "as powerful as MRI, and as casual as a trip to the spa."

Beyond the scanner itself, Midjourney plans to build dedicated spa-like scanning locations called Midjourney Spas, featuring hot tubs, saunas, cold plunges, and private scanning rooms. The first location is slated for San Francisco in 2027. Over the next 12 months, the company will focus on refining the hardware, improving algorithms, and running research trials. Diagnostic capabilities will require FDA approval, so initial scans will provide body-composition maps only, with regular FDA submissions planned. Midjourney's long-term goal is to scale to more than 50,000 scanners worldwide by 2031. The project raises significant questions about health data privacy, consent, accuracy, and the regulatory challenges a creative AI company faces when entering the highly regulated medical market.