The trend in the United States for people to pay for whole body computed tomography scans has declined, and once thriving large businesses set up for the purpose are now closing down their operations.

The growth began in the late 1990s with the creation of hundreds of scanning centres, many of which funded large advertising campaigns aimed directly at the consumer. Thousands of Americans were paying out of their own pockets for the scans, which could cost $1000 (£530; …