IMAGING THAT

How many of us begin each year with a diet and a renewed commitment to exercise? Yep, just about all of us. Frederick W. Fey, president and COO of HealthScreen America in Jacksonville, Florida, suggests that in the future we add a diagnostic exam to our New Year’s ritual. New imaging technology is making it possible for us to learn about diseases invading our bodies long — 20 to 25 years — before we experience symptoms. We will be able to spot plaque in our arteries and find potentially cancerous nodules in our lungs at a point when reducing or eliminating them will be easy. Fey says future technology will remind us of Star Trek’s healthcare — noninvasive and painless. That painless feature will encourage more people to get tests earlier when they can change their lifestyles or take medicines to rid themselves of disease. Better yet, says Fey, “having access to diagnostic technology will allow people to avoid having a disease at all.”