Experts question Midjourney’s claims about full-body ultrasound scanner

In short: Midjourney says it is building a full-body ultrasound scanner that could match MRI results, but experts say the company has not shown enough proof.

What happened

Midjourney, the startup best known for a tool that creates images from text prompts, announced a new medical project called Midjourney Medical. The company says it is working on a full-body ultrasound scanner.

Midjourney described a system where a person would be lowered into a vat of water for a scan. The company said it hopes the results could be “as powerful as MRI” and as easy as “a trip to the spa.” MRI is a hospital scan that uses strong magnets to make detailed pictures inside the body.

Midjourney CEO David Holz has suggested the system could one day be better than MRI. Several medical imaging specialists told The Verge they are not rejecting the idea, but they are skeptical. They said Midjourney has shared little public evidence to back up such big goals, especially since ultrasound is an older technology with well-known limits.

Midjourney’s blog post about the project barely mentions AI. AI is a type of software that finds patterns in large amounts of data, like a very fast assistant that learns from examples. A Midjourney Medical leader, Tom Calloway, told The Verge the scanner would use AI and specialized chips to handle the huge amount of data a scan creates.

Why it matters

Health scans can change medical decisions, so accuracy and safety matter. If a company says a scan can match or beat an MRI, people will want to see clear testing and independent validation before trusting it, especially if it is marketed as a casual wellness experience.

Source: The Verge AI