In 1971, the first clinical computed tomography scan was performed at Atkinson Morley Hospital in London. CT scanning transformed diagnosis by producing cross-sectional images of the living body. Later improvements made CT central to diagnosing stroke, cancer, trauma and pulmonary embolism.

CT scanning changed the visual imagination of the body into slices, layers and hidden interiors. It gave modern literature and art a new way to think about perception: truth revealed through reconstruction, inspiring poets like Susan Howe to explore the intersections of visibility and invisibility.