Weekend February 3/4, 2001

The HealthView

It looks like science fiction but this is fact: Three-dimensional views inside the human body, revealing the mystery of the human machine. Dr. Harvey Eisenberg says, "This test takes people on an internal voyage into their body in a very graphic way."

Dr. Eisenberg of Newport Beach, California developed the HealthView. A revolutionary diagnostic tool that uses electron beams and complex software to scan the entire body. He says, "What we are attempting to do is create a universal examination which in many ways replaces the annual physical."

Ken Smith says, "It's unquestionable that I'm alive today because of that test."

Sixty-five-year-old Ken Smith lost his younger brother to a heart attack. He feared he would suffer the same fate so he took a traditional treadmill test. But it showed no problems with his heart. But Ken was still worried. He says, "I figured I had a problem but I couldn't verify it until this test came along."

But how does it work? The machine takes hundreds of pictures of your body and then transfers those pictures to a computer. What comes out is a living three dimensional picture of your anatomy. Doctors say they can get a more accurate idea of potential problems by getting a virtual tour of your organs slice by slice.

For ken this diagnostic tool was a lifesaver. It showed he had a serious heart problem, massive blockages in the arteries. He says, "They did emergency quad bypass surgery and told me later that I was 80 to 90 percent blocked."

Dr. Eisenberg says that in addition to heart disease the machine is useful in detecting osteoporosis, emphysema, and early detection of lung and breast cancer. He says, "Medicine needs to be proactive. It needs to search out problems before they are problems."

But the HealthView has sparked major controversy from those that say its expensive, at around $700 dollars per test, and not all that effective. But Ken Smith thinks differently. He now eats better and exercises more by dancing with his wife. But he says its not just what it did for his body, but what it did for his head that matters too. "I will tell you it really gives you piece of mind."