Midjourney shows ultrasound scanner without settling evidence questions
A new company-linked video shows Midjourney’s dunk-tank scanner, while expert concerns about its medical imaging claims remain unresolved.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Midjourney has shown more of its experimental ultrasound scanner in a nearly 20-minute video, offering a closer look at the hardware behind a project it has tied to cheaper, radiation-free imaging. The Verge reported that the demonstration still leaves unanswered questions about whether the system can produce the detailed images Midjourney has suggested.
The AI company, best known for image-generation tools, has described the device as a dunk-tank ultrasound scanner that it plans to place in spas, according to The Verge. Midjourney has said the scanner will first be used as a wellness product focused on body composition rather than as a diagnostic medical device.
The video was made by Marcin Plaza, a tech YouTuber who is also an engineer at Midjourney, The Verge reported. Plaza describes the scanner as an assembly of many ultrasound probes, altered and mounted around what he calls a “glorified hot tub with an elevator in it,” with the setup linked to off-the-shelf computers and Raspberry Pis.
The footage shows the machine and the team working on it, according to The Verge. It also includes a scan of an imaging phantom, a test object used under controlled conditions to check how cleanly structures can be separated in an image.
Expert doubts remain
The Verge reported that specialists it consulted after Midjourney first disclosed the project said the company had not shown enough evidence that it could get around long-known limits of ultrasound. Those experts also questioned whether Midjourney could create the kind of detailed images it has implied, at the scale and speed it has discussed.
Ultrasound is already a long-established medical imaging technology, The Verge noted, and Midjourney’s claims depend on showing that its system can do more than existing approaches. The new video gives viewers more access to the physical build, but The Verge reported that it does not closely address the physics and imaging issues raised by those outside experts.
Midjourney’s initial path avoids the stricter process that would apply to a diagnostic device. The Verge reported that a medical diagnostic product would require FDA clearance and clinical trials, while the company is presenting its first use case as wellness-oriented body composition scanning.
Tom Calloway, Midjourney’s head of medical, said in the video that the body-composition focus would let the company “speedrun” the opening process once testing is complete, according to The Verge. That framing leaves the project positioned between an ambitious medical imaging pitch and a narrower wellness launch.
For now, the public evidence remains limited to Midjourney’s own demonstrations and the new company-linked video. The Verge reported that the scanner’s prospects will depend on whether Midjourney can produce clearer proof that its ultrasound system works as claimed.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.