Midjourney Announces Pivot to Medical Hardware with Full-Body Ultrasonic Scanner Project

Jun 18, 2026

AI image generator Midjourney is pivoting to medical hardware, announcing a full-body ultrasonic scanner designed to produce MRI-like images in 60 seconds. The project, in partnership with Butterfly Network, will require FDA approval for its diagnostic capabilities. Midjourney plans to open scanning 'spas,' starting in San Francisco in 2027, with a goal of deploying 50,000 scanners globally by 2031.

Midjourney Medical scanner announcement

▪The company plans to open its first scanning "spa" in San Francisco by the end of 2027
▪Midjourney, an AI image generation company, has announced a new project to develop a full-body ultrasonic scanner
▪The new initiative is operating under the name Midjourney Medical
▪The project is led by Ahmad Abbas, Midjourney's head of consumer hardware, who previously worked on Apple's Vision Pro
▪Midjourney claims that widespread early imaging could potentially avoid 30% of all deaths and 50% of all healthcare costs
▪The company's long-term goal is to have 50,000 scanners operating worldwide by 2031
▪Midjourney is self-funded, developing the project using revenue from its existing products without external investors

Ultrasound imaging technology specifications

▪The scanner's ring is designed to contain half a million ultrasonic sensors that emit and record sound waves
▪A prototype unit uses a ring of 40 scanner modules containing a total of 358,000 ultrasonic elements
▪The technology, known as Fullbody Ultrasound Computational Tomography (USCT), can capture tissue details up to half a millimeter
▪The device works by submerging a person in water and passing them through a ring of ultrasonic sensors
▪The scanner is designed to create a 3D map of the body in under 60 seconds, significantly faster than the 60 to 90 minutes for a full-body MRI

Butterfly Network hardware partnership

▪An SEC filing indicates Butterfly Network expects to receive $74 million over five years for the hardware agreement
▪Midjourney is partnering with handheld ultrasound device maker Butterfly Network on the project
▪Midjourney's initial announcement did not mention the partnership, prompting Butterfly Network to issue its own clarifying press release
▪In November 2025, Midjourney signed a licensing agreement for Butterfly Network's exclusive ultrasound-on-chip technology
▪Butterfly Network confirmed it supplied 40 ultrasound imaging modules for the scanner prototype under a co-development agreement

FDA regulatory approval requirements

▪The company must obtain FDA approval for the scanner's diagnostic capabilities
▪Initially, the scanner will provide body composition maps while Midjourney submits test results to the FDA for expanded diagnostic claims