Midjourney, the AI company that usually makes pictures of things that don't exist, is still committed to making a medical scanner that might exist. It released a behind-the-scenes video of its dunk-tank ultrasound device, which it hopes to deploy in spas and, eventually, revolutionize medicine with cheap, detailed, radiation-free imaging. The nearly 20-minute tour comes from tech YouTuber Marcin Plaza, who also happens to work at Midjourney as an engineer.

Plaza, refreshingly honest, describes the scanner as 'scores of ultrasound probes hacked apart and slapped on a glorified hot tub with an elevator in it,' connected to off-the-shelf computers and Raspberry Pis. The video shows more hardware and the team building it, but largely glosses over the pesky physics and imaging questions experts raised when Midjourney first announced the project.

Those experts told The Verge that Midjourney had shown little evidence it could overcome the well-known limits of ultrasound - a technology that has been around for decades - or generate the kind of detailed images it has suggested at the scale and speed it is promising. The company emphasizes that the scanner will launch as a wellness product focused on body composition, not as a diagnostic medical device (which would require FDA clearance and clinical trials). Head of medical Tom Calloway says focusing on body composition lets the company 'speedrun' and open right away once testing is complete. But the video still leans heavily on medical language, asking what physicians could do with frequent scans taken over time.

Calloway did not seem especially concerned about clearing up any confusion. 'I don't think there's anything to really clarify,' he said, promising frequent blogs with progress updates. CEO David Holz, meanwhile, said Midjourney's lack of investors gives the company freedom to pursue the scanner. 'No one can tell me not to do it,' he said. Which is, of course, a totally reassuring statement from someone building a medical device.